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AMONG PRIMITIVE PEOPLES IN
BORNEO
:KEfF & RECENT 'BOOKS
III the Heart of Bantuland.
A Record of 29 Years' Pioneering in
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of the Native Habits, Customs,
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Wild Bush Tribes of Tropical
Africa.
Adventurt_ 6^ Travel in Tropical
Africa, with descriptions of the
Tribes, Customs Rights.Ceremonies,
Secret Societies, Sport &* Warfare.
By G. CvRiL Clakidgk. With 41
Illustrations *• a Map. 2i«. net.
Amongf Primitive Peoples in
Borneo.
The Lives, Habits, Customs, «Vc. of
the Piratical Head-Hunters of North
Borneo. By Ivor H. N. Evans,
B.A., F.R.A.I. With many Illus-
trations iSf a Map. 21s. net.
Kashmir in Sunlight and Shade.
Describing its beauties, jV the habits
and customs, &> gradual rebuilding
of a once downtrodden people. By
C. E. Tyndale-Biscoe, M.A.
(Cantab.) 28 Illustrations &> a Map.
Demy 8vo. 12s. 6d. net.
The Rift Valleys and Geology
of Bast Africa.
By Prof. J. W. Grkgory, D.Sc,
F.R.S. With many Illustrations &*
Maps. 33s. net.
A Diplomat in Japan.
The Inner History of the Critical
Years of Japan when the Ports were
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By The Right Hon. Sir Ernest
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tions. 32s. net.
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An Arduous Journey of Exploration
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Burma &' Tibet. By Captain F.
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Illustrations &• Maps. ass. net.
Second Edition.
The Life and Explorations of
Frederick Stanley Arnot.
Authorised Biography of a Zealous
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Stcond Edition.
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Travels, Adventures &* Experiences
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troduction by A. C. Haddon, M.A.,
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** 4 Maps. Demy 8vo. 253. net.
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A Record of Pres«nt-day Whaling.
By W. G. Burn Murdoch,
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Prehistoric Man (^ His Story.
A Sketch of the History of Mankind
from the Earliest Times. By Prof.
G. F. Scott Elliot, M.A.(Cantab.)
B.Sc.fEdin.), F.R.S.E., F.l^S..
F.R.G.S. With 56 Illustrations,
los. 6d. net.
SEELEY, SERVICE 6* CO. LTD.
^--r.^>:
m.
I -.i;*i
A Lowland Dusun on a Buffalo.
This ungainly looking brute is a favourite steed, and can keep up a jog-trot for hours, when it is
not exposed to the full heat of the sun. The animal is " steered " by means of the cord attached
to the nose-ring. A saddle with a high wooden peak is generally used in buffalo-riding.
AMONG
PRIMITIVE PEOPLES
IN
BORNEO
A DESCRIPTION OF THE LIVES, HABITS
& CUSTOMS OF THE PIRATICAL HEAD-
HUNTERS OF NORTH BORNEO, WITH AN
ACCOUNT OF INTERESTING OBJECTS OF
PREHISTORIC ANTIQUITY DISCOVERED IN
THE ISLAND
IVOR H.N. EVANS, B.A
Fellonu of the Royal Anthropological Institute
WITH MANY ILLUSTRATIONS &* A MAP
LONDON ^ ^
SEELEY, SERVICE ?5f CO. LIMITED
38 GREAT RUSSELL STREET
1922
/
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
PAOB
British North Borneo — General Description — History
— Government . . . . . .17
CHAPTER II
British North Borneo — Population & Races . . 27
CHAPTER HI
Trade & Industries ...... 36
CHAPTER IV
The Tuaran & Tempassuk Districts . . -45
CHAPTER V
The Jungle ....... 56
CHAPTER VI
Travelling Up-Country & Elsewhere . . .62
CHAPTER VII
The Life of an Out-Station Officer . . .71
THE DUSUNS
CHAPTER VIII
Races of the Tuaran & Tempassuk Districts . 79
CHAPTER IX
Dress & Adornment ...... 88
CHAPTER X
Houses — Domestic Affairs — Government . . -93
CHAPTER XI
Agriculture, Fishing, Hunting & Trapping . .103
II
1 2 Contents
CHAPTER XII
PAGB
Food, Narcotics & Intoxicants . . . .112
CHAPTER XIII
Courtship, Marriage & Divorce, Burial & Puberty
Customs . . . . . . .122
CHAPTER XIV
Musical Instruments, Music & Dancing . . .130
CHAPTER XV
Wealth, Currency, Trading, Markets . . • ^^35
CHAPTER XVI
Manufactures . . . . .146
CHAPTER XVH
Religion & Superstitions . . . . .152
CHAPTER XVIII
Legends . . . . . . .170
CHAPTER XIX
Warfare, Head-Hunting 6* Weapons . . .186
THE BAJAUS & ILLANUNS
CHAPTER XX
Races of the Tuaran & Tempassuk Districts . .194
CHAPTER XXI
Agriculture, Hunting & Fishing . . . .201
CHAPTER XXII
Dress, Domestic Affairs & Government . . . 209
CHAPTER XXIII
Food 6* Intoxicants . . . . . .221
CHAPTER XXIV
Love, Courtship 6* Marriage . . . .225
Contents 13
CHAPTER XXV
PAGE
Manufactures . . • • • • .229
CHAPTER XXVI
COCK-FIGHTING, GAMBLING 6* OtHER AMUSEMENTS . .238
CHAPTER XXVH
Religion 6* Folklore . . • ' .247
CHAPTER XXVHI
Weapons & Warfare . . • • • -253
CHAPTER XXIX
Antiquities ....••• 266
CHAPTER XXX
The Chinese in Borneo . . • • • ^74
CHAPTER XXXI
Diary of a Journey to Mount Kinabalu . . .291
APPENDICES
A.— Derivations of some Tempassuk Place-Names . 311
B.— Measurements of "Orang Dusun" .312
C— The Malay Language . . . • .312
Index ...•••• 3^5
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
A Lowland Dusun on a Buffalo .... Frontispiece
A Bamboo Bridge over the Kadamaian . . .24
An Up-country View in the Tempassuk District . 48
Gumpus, the Headman of Tambatuan . . . .72
The Wife of the Headman of Tambatuan & her Favourite Pig . 96
Dusun Women at work in the Fields below Tambatuan . 104
A Dusun Family Party on the march . . .112
A Dusun Fish-trap in the Kadamaian River . . .112
Bunsud, a Lowland Dusun . . . . ,136
The Dusun Organ 6* Banjo . . . .136
A Market Scene in the Tempassuk District . . .144
Dusun Priestess of Tambatuan in Ceremonial Dress (/fi?«/) . 160
Dusun Priestess of Tambatuan in Ceremonial Dress (/'gfl!/') . 160
A Dusun Man of Tambatuan in War Dress . . .192
15
1 6 List of Illustrations
A Head-house at Kaung Ulu . . . . .192
PAGE
Drying Padi in a Dusun Village .... 200
Dusuns of Tempassuk Village ..... 240
Bajau Village at Mengkabong . . . . .288
In a Rice-field near Tambatuan .... 296
Some Dusun Musical Instruments .... 296
In Kaung Ulu ....... 304
Among Primitive Peoples in
Borneo
CHAPTER I
BRITISH NORTH BORNEO GENERAL DESCRIPTION
HISTORY GOVERNMENT
THE country with which this book deals is the
territory of the British North Borneo Company,
and in particular the adjacent districts of the Tuaran
and Tempassuk, called after two rivers that take their rise
in Mount Kinabalu the magnificent, which towers up almost
perpendicularly on its seaward face to a height of 13,400
feet.
Borneo, the second largest island in the world, which is
hazily connected by the crowd with the existence of wild
men, lies, roughly speaking, south of the Philippines, with
Java to the south, Celebes to the east, Sumatra and the
Malay Peninsula to the west, while the Equator cuts almost
through the centre.
About two-thirds of the whole island, comprising the two
Residencies of South-East and West Borneo, is under Dutch
rule. The remainder is divided into three states : Sarawak,
which occupies a long strip of territory on the west coast
and has an English ruler (Raja Brooke); British North
Borneo, governed by a Chartered Company, towards the
northern end of the island; and the little native state of
Brunei, wedged between these two, which have both en-
riched themselves at her expense. The last-named is now
protected by Great Britain and administered by officers of
the Straits Settlements Civil Service.
The first European traveller to give an account of the
B 17
1 8 British North Borneo
manners and customs of any Bornean tribe was Antonio
Pigafetta, who visited the city of Brunei in 1521. The
name Bornei, by which he calls that old state, has now been
further corrupted into the modern Borneo.
The credit of being the first Europeans to discover the
island rests apparently with the Portuguese or the Spaniards,
somewhere between 1518 and 1526, but it seems uncer-
tain to which nationality the laurels should be awarded.
Possibly the Italian traveller Varthema may have visited the
country before either the Portuguese or the Spaniards.
However, there is little doubt that the Chinese had been in
the habit of visiting Borneo at least since the sixth century
A.D., and possibly much earlier, as in the works of various of
their historians we have accounts of embassies which were
sent from China to the Royal Court of Brunei, and vice versa.
Trade followed, or perhaps preceded, the ambassadors;
but, though old Chinese pottery and beads are found almost
everywhere in Borneo, it is very doubtful if there was ever
a resident Chinese population numerous enough to have
introduced a serious amount of Chinese blood among the
aboriginals, as has been supposed by some writers. But I
shall have something more to say on this subject when I.
come to deal with the question of the races and tribes
inhabiting the country.
I The total area of Borneo is about 290,000 square miles. ^
The island is very compact and has not many bays or*
inlets, though there are a few on its north-eastern coast.
A belt of mangrove swamp of varying breadth fringes most
of the shores, and behind this are plains — not necessarily
open country — foot-hills and finally the mountainous regions
of the interior. Among the plains and swamps wind the
lower courses of the rivers, which take their rise in the
mountains, and eventually empty themselves into the sea
through deltas formed of detritus from the uplands.^
• No land is better provided with rivers than Borneo, but
unfortunately the majority of them are not navigable for
British North Borneo 19
I boats of any size owing to the formidable bars at their
mouths.
i The country is thickly covered with primeval jungle, except
where there is, or has been, a considerable native population.
In such districts virgin jungle is found chiefly on the highest
of the lower hills, and on the mountains, while the valleys
are filled with big secondary growth which has sprung up
on the sites of old native clearings. Taking it as a whole,
the west coast is far more thickly populated than the east,
wherefore the east is much more given over to jungle. I
I The climate of Borneo very much resembles that of the
Malay Peninsula, but the island is a good deal less healthy,
the north-eastern coast in particular having a very bad
reputation for fever. As is stated by Guillemard and Kean
(Compendium of the Geography of Australasia)^ Borneo, being
bisected by the Equator, " is exposed to the action of four
Monsoons, in the northern portion to the N.E. and S.W.,
and in the southern to the S.E. and N.W., but these
^ winds become considerably altered with the locality." The
general climate may be described as hot and damp, and
though severe droughts sometimes occur, there is no true
dry season. Roughly [speaking, the rainiest part of the
year in British North Borneo is from October to February. I
The total population of Borneo was estimated in 1905
to be about 1,820,000.
To turn now to British North Borneo. This state, with
' an area of 31,000 square miles and a population of 208,000,
is governed by a Chartered Company, formed for the
purpose of developing certain lands, concessions for which
had been obtained from the Sultans of Sulu and Brunei in
' consideration of stipulated annual payments. The negotia-
tions with these Sultans for the transfer of the territories
to a Provisional Company were concluded by the late Sir
Alfred Dent and Baron Overbeck in 1877.
The American Consul in Brunei had already obtained
20 British North Borneo
concessions for some of the territories which are now
under the flag of the British North Borneo Company, a
trading Company had been formed, and, with a view to
opening up the country, Chinese had been imported and
settled at Kimanis. However, neither the settlement nor
the Company flourished, and its rights were finally acquired
by Baron Overbeck. Sir Alfred (then Mr) Dent visited
various parts of the territories, accompanied by representa-
tives of the Brunei and Sulu Governments, who were em-
powered to notify the inhabitants that the rights of bothl
Sultans had been transferred to the Company; European
ofl[icers in command of small bodies of police were left at
Sandakan — now the capital — Tempassuk and Papar; the
Dent house flag was hoisted at the stations opened, and the
new territories came, at any rate in name, under the control
of the lessees.
In 1 88 1, in spite of bitter opposition on the part of the
Dutch and the Spaniards, a Royal Charter was granted to
the Provisional Company which had been formed to acquire
the rights of the lessees. The Dutch, who had previously
done everything in their power to hinder the aflfairs of Raja
Brooke in Sarawak, naturally did not welcome the formation
of yet another British state in Borneo ; while the Spanish
were displeased at the British obtaining any power in th(
northern portion of Borneo which they considered withii
their sphere of influence, as being in juxtaposition to th<
southern islands of the Philippines, and nominally undei
the Sultan of Sulu. Indeed the latter seem to have hac
some title to those districts over which the royal house o
Sulu claimed to exercise power, since the Sultan of Suli
had for some time been subject to them. However, th(
concessions from the Sultan were obtained while he was h
rebellion against the Spaniards, and, as he did not make hii
peace with them until later in the year, the moral rights oi
the Spaniards, whatever they might be worth, were nol
recognised.
British North Borneo 2i
The British North Borneo Provisional Association was
dissolved on the formation of the Chartered Company in
1882, when Sir Rutherford Alcock, Mr A. Dent, Mr R. B.
Martin, Admiral Mayne and Mr W. H. Read, who had formed
the Board of the Provisional Association, became the first
Directors. The nominal capital of the new Company was
;if 2,000,000 in £10 shares; but only 4500 fully paid shares
were issued to the vendors, while £\i. per share was called
up on the remainder. The actual cash, therefore, with
which the Company started its existence, including ;^iooo
received for forfeited shares, was only about ;^3 84,000.
The Charter granted to the Company stipulated for the
proper treatment of the natives, and provided that whenever
a new Governor was chosen his name should be submitted
to the Secretary of State for the Colonies for approval
before the appointment was confirmed. The Company
was to have sovereign rights within its own territory, but
all dealings with foreign powers were to be conducted with
the sanction of the Home Government, while provision was
also made for maintaining the British character of the body.
The Company's flags were to be the Union Jack "defaced'*
with a lion passant in the centre, and the Blue and Red
Ensigns with a lion in the fly.
Such, then, were the beginnings of the new Company :
a few European oflScers holding insecure positions with the
aid of small companies of police, a certain amount of cash,
and absolute rights over a large territory leased to the Com-
pany by two Sultans who were practically without power to
enforce their will in the portions of it claimed respectively
by each. At first, however, things went fairly well ; settle-
ments were founded at Sandakan, Kudat, Gaya Island and
, elsewhere; while these three stations — the Gaya Island
settlement having since been removed to the mainland and
given the name of Jesselton — are still the most important
towns in the Company's territory, though Kudat, the old
capital, has lagged somewhat behind the other two.
22 British North Borneo
Luckily for the Company, the natives of British North
Borneo are neither so warHke nor so well organised as those
of Sarawak; consequently there have been fewer wars.
The two most troublesome tribes have been the Bajaus and
Illanuns of the west coast, who are by nature and education
undisciplined robbers, sea-rovers and freebooters. In the
old days the Illanuns were the most notorious pirates in the
Archipelago, and their very name was a terror even to
people living so far away as the Malay Peninsula, to the
inhabitants of which probably a good many piracies were
credited, which were really the work of the former. The
Illanuns are resident in the Tempassuk district, while the
Bajaus are found on both coasts, those on the west having
settled villages, while those on the east live the lives of sea-
gipsies.
From among the Bajaus of Inanan in the Tuaran district
arose one leader to withstand the rising power of the Char-
tered Company. Mat Sal eh, a man of good birth, partly by
appealing to the predatory instincts of the more disorderly
tribes, partly by trading on the natives' mistrust of the
Chartered Company, which was assuming control of large
tracts of country without consulting the wishes of the in-
habitants, was able to raise considerable forces, and for a
number of years gave the Directors many uneasy moments.
Among his chief exploits, or those of his lieutenants, were
the plundering of Gaya Treasury, a march on Sandakan and
the sacking and burning of Kudat " Arsenal."
By some Mat Saleh has been condemned as a treacherous
and crafty enemy and a rebel against the government of the
country; by others — the love-your-enemy-and-hate-your-
neighbour party in Parliament — he has been canonised as a
patriot saint, defending his country against the encroach-
ments of a Company of chartered freebooters. Neither of
these estimates is correct. He appears to have been a man
of good presence, considerable activity and great courage,
who, besides being a born leader, was possessed of consider-
British North Borneo 23
able powers of persuasive eloquence. Patriotism, in the
sense in which it is understood in Europe, or indeed in any
sense, is unknown among the native tribes of Borneo; but
Mat Saleh well represented the prevailing Bajau feeling with
regard to the new government, which was both disliked and
feared, since it threatened to put bounds to the Bajaus' im-
memorial right of doing exactly as they chose, and to their
equally venerable custom of oppressing and cheating the
natives of the interior.
On the other hand, it cannot be said that the Chartered
Company had morally — even supposing that its legal rights
were above suspicion — any right to possess itself of its
present territories. Except in the case of a few small dis-
tricts acquired at a later date, which were taken over from
minor chiefs in consideration of annual payments, the titles
to the country were obtained from the Sultans of Sulu and
Brunei. These Sultans were claimants to nearly all the
territory which is now under the rule of the Chartered
Company; but, except perhaps for one or two valleys not
far from the present border of the state of Brunei, their
claims were of the most shadowy description, neither poten-
tate being able to enforce his orders even in the coastal
regions, while practically the only tangible sign of the Sultan
of Sulu's existence, as far as Borneo was concerned, were
raids by Sulu pirates and the settlements formed, chiefly on
the east coast, by his somewhat undesirable subjects.
The Sultan of Brunei seems to have been occasionally
able to exact tribute from some of the people of the west
coast, but this was rather in the nature of blackmail
extorted by war prahus. Natives who made themselves
useful to him were often given high-sounding titles. He
had absolutely no control over the interior.
Naturally both Sultans were only too glad to transfer
their doubtful claims in exchange for what was to them a
liberal yearly payment, for they lost little or nothing by
surrendering all rights in the territory, and obtained a
24 British North Borneo
handsome rent for what was of hardly any use to them.
The Directors of the Company, on the other hand, were
equally anxious to come to terms in order that they might,
before starting operations in Borneo, have some sort of a
legal document to flourish in the faces of those who were
rude enough to say that they were little better than the
pirates and freebooters whose excesses they professed
themselves so wishful to stop.
Thus the British North Borneo Company started to
possess themselves of the country, without in any way
truly consulting the feelings or wishes of the inhabitants,
proclamations being merely read which announced that the
territories had been leased from the two Sultans. The
natives were for the most part too badly organised to oifer
any resistance, and either, in the case of the more timid
peoples, acquiesced without any thought of making an
attempt to show that they objected to being summarily
disposed of by Sultans whose suzerainty they did not
acknowledge, or, in that of the more warlike tribes, pre-
tended, with the somewhat subtle politeness of the Malay,
to receive their unwelcome visitors with pleasure, at the
same time wishing themselves well rid of them and trusting
that something would happen to upset their plans.
When, however, the coastal tribes found that the in-
truders showed no signs of retiring, that the servants of the
Company were attempting to interfere with what they had
hitherto regarded as their legitimate amusements, that
courts, police stations and other abominations were being
established, and efforts made to bring the littoral at any
rate under some sort of control, they naturally began to
understand the drift of the proclamations, and to what kind
of things the Company's rule would lead, should it succeed
in establishing itself permanently.
Naturally discontent among the predatory tribes increased
proportionately as they saw their freedom of action menaced,
and they only required a leader of some parts to set them
British North Borneo 25
in a state of open warfare. This leader was found in the
person of Mat Saleh, who not only was successful in band-
ing together the Bajaus and Illanuns, but also partly by
terrorism, partly by cajolery, at one time managed to get
together a considerable following of pagan Dusuns.
The Encyclopedia Britannica^ which should certainly be
unbiassed, in the course of an article on British North
Borneo makes mention of the Mat Saleh "rebellions" as
follows : —
" The Company's acquisition of territory was viewed with
considerable dissatisfaction by many of the natives, and
this found expression in frequent acts of violence. The
most noted and most successful of the native leaders was
a Bajau named Mat Saleh, who for many years defied the
Company, whose policy in his regard was marked by con-
siderable weakness and vacillation. In 1898 a composition
was made with him, the terms of which were unfortunately
not defined with sufficient clearness, and he retired into the
Tambunan country to the east of the range which runs
parallel to the west coast, where for a period he lorded
it undisturbed over the Dusun tribes of the valley. In
1899 it was found necessary to expel him, since his acts
of aggression and defiance were no longer endurable. A
short and this time successful campaign followed, resulting
on the 31st January 1900 in the death of Mat Saleh and
the destruction of his defences. Some of his followers
who escaped raided the town of Kudat on Marudu Bay in
April of the same year, but caused more panic than damage ;
and little by little during the next years the last smouldering
embers of rebellion were extinguished."
As I have mentioned before, the territory of the Chartered
Company is administered by a Governor who is appointed by
the Court of Directors. Beneath the Governor are the
Residents, of whom there are four, the Resident of the
West Coast, the Resident of Kudat, the Resident of the
26 British North Borneo
East Coast and the Resident of the Interior. Under the
Residents are the District Officers, the Assistant District
Officers and the Cadets ; the last-named are usually either
attached to some of the Government offices in the towns,
or temporarily put in charge of a sub-district — as I was —
until they shall have passed their examinations in Malay and
Law, soon after which, unless stationed in towns, they are
raised to the rank of Assistant District Officers. Outside
the Cadet Service are the Railway, Public Works, Medical,
Survey, Telegraphs and Police Departments, while officers of
the Cadet Service or speciaHsts are attached to the Treasuries,
Posts and Telegraphs, Audit and Printing Offices.
One or more European officers are stationed at the follow-
ing places ; — Jesselton, Tuaran, Kotabelud, Papar, Mempakol
and Weston on the west coast ; Kudat on the north coast ;
Sandakan, Lahad Datoh, Simporna and Tawao on the east
coast; Beaufort, Tenom, Kaningau, Tangkulop, Rundum,
Ranau and Tambunan in the Interior Residency, while a
Magistrate is also in charge of the Labuk and Sugut rivers.
The chief towns in the Company's territory are Jesselton
and Sandakan, the latter being the seat of government,
but the Governor divides his time about equally between
the two, and Jesselton is the headquarters of the Con-
stabulary. The next town in order of importance is Kudat
on Marudu Bay, and after this Beaufort on the Padas river.
The means of communication I will deal with in another
chapter. The territories of the British North Borneo
Company extend from the Lawas river on the west coast
to the Sibuko river on the east.
A joint Anglo-Dutch Commission has visited the interior
for the purpose of adjusting the boundary between the
Company's territory and Dutch Borneo, and settling dis-
puted points. All the islands within a distance of nine
leagues of the coast of British North Borneo, including
those of Balambangan and Banguey, are within the sphere
of the Company's jurisdiction.
CHAPTER II
BRITISH NORTH BORNEO POPULATION &- RACES
BRITISH NORTH BORNEO can boast of only a
scanty population, a very large part of the country
being still under virgin jungle, especially the east
coast and the interior. The low-lying regions of the west
coast support a fair native population, a great part of which
is engaged in the planting of wet padi. In the upland
regions, however, where hill padi is the staple crop, the
population, owing to the methods of agriculture employed,
must of necessity be scanty, even should all available land
be in use.
The reason for this is that after a patch of ground has
been in cultivation for a couple of years or so it will no
longer give a good crop, and, in consequence, clearings are
usually abandoned in the second or third year, when the land
soon becomes covered by secondary jungle. After a con-
siderable number of years have passed, and, presumably, a
certain amount of humus has accumulated, the jungle is
again felled and burnt, and the land once more put under
cultivation, to be abandoned as before on the exhaustion
of the soil.
Possibly a remedy for this state of affairs might be found
in terrace cultivation and manuring, but many of the primitive
tribes who inhabit the hill country know nothing of such
methods of agriculture, and would probably be slow to
abandon their immemorial custom, even if skilled agricul-
turists were to be imported as instructors. To put a stop
to the planting of hill padi by enactment would be un-
thinkable, as it would condemn about half the population
of the country to death by starvation.
27
2 8 Population &^ Races
The people of the Httoral and on the more navigable
rivers are, generally speaking, lax Mohammedans, those of
the interior and the intermediate regions pagans. The tribes
of the coastal regions are the most recent arrivals, and are of
Malayan or Proto-Malayan stock; those of the interior are
Indonesians.
The natives of the up-country regions far excel those of
the coasts in good qualities, the latter being usually boastful,
lazy, tyrannical over those weaker than themselves, lawless,
gamblers, borrowers and spendthrifts, their only merit being
their fondness for sport in all its forms. The up-country
man, on the other hand, is hard-working, thrifty and usually
honest ; he has, moreover, a manner which appeals singularly
to most Englishmen, since he has no trace of the cringing
and fawning style of many of the peoples of India, which,
should there be any opportunity, quickly develops into very
slightly veiled insolence. He meets the white man with a
kind of " man-to-man " manner, which at the same time is
perfectly respectful. The best type of native both respects
himself and respects you ; and, if you are of a friendly dis-
position, the respect will rapidly develop into liking on both
sides.
Nevertheless I do not want the reader to think that the
pagan native is faultless ; he has his little failings, as most of
us have, and among them must be mentioned a weakness for
"lifting" human heads from their owners' shoulders — partly
as a matter of sport and prowess, partly of religion — and
a penchant for stealing buifaloes, which also is considered
almost a sport; but I shall have more to say about this
subject in another chapter.
I have never been able to settle quite definitely in my
own mind whether such difference in character is due to the
fundamental difference in race between the coastal tribes and
those of the interior, or whether the reason for the essential
badness of the natives of the sea-board must be sought for
in some obscure influence of the teachings of Islam on the
Population &^ Races 29
peculiar Malayan temperament. I cannot profess any great
admiration for Mohammedanism in general, since it suffers
from all the defects of an exclusive religion, but I am in-
clined to think that we must not by any means ascribe all
the shortcomings of Mohammedan natives to the religion,
one reason being that, except for a very firm belief that its
tenets are true, they pay but Uttle attention to them in
matters concerning everyday life.
It is related of a certain local saint — the story is told by
the Malays against themselves — that when he arrived in
Sumatra he found the people absolutely indifferent to his
teachings, since their whole time was devoted to cock-
fighting, wagering and the discussion of the merits of the
various birds which were to take part in forthcoming
matches. The would-be teacher's chances of converting
any of the natives to a better way of life seemed poor
indeed, until a certain Malay, wishing to obtain a spell or
charm to say over his fighting cock to ensure its victory
in a contest for which he had entered it, bethought himself
of the holy man who had come to live near his village.
Thereupon he took himself off to the wise man's house
and besought him for a charm which would help his bird
to win. The Arab considered for a while, and, probably
seeing little harm and some possible gain in complying with
the request, taught the Malay to utter the Mohammedan
Confession of Faith. The Malay went away perfectly
satisfied with this new charm, and to his great joy his
bird, about which he had felt some doubts, beat its
opponent, an event which he was not slow in attributing
to the saint's spell. Not unnaturally he boasted to his
friends of the fine new charm he had obtained from the
wise man, the consequence being that the latter was over-
whelmed with similar requests from other natives. To
each of these he taught the same formula, and thus the
Moslem profession of faith was soon heard on all sides
throughout the country.
30 Population ^ Races
The first Malay, however, soon came again to the saint
and protested against the charm, which had been given to
him as his own, having become public property. The saint,
therefore, to appease him taught him as a fresh charm the
Five Daily Prayers, and once more the Malay went away
satisfied. From that time to such a pitch did the demand
for charms attain that the saint was able to teach the
Malays all the doctrines of the Mohammedan religion under
the guise of spells to be used in cock-fighting.
The average Mohammedan native in the Malay Peninsula,
in Borneo and other islands of the Archipelago is in a
perpetual state of banyak susah (great trouble) usually with
regard to money affairs. Needless to say, his troubles,
where they truly exist, as they often do, are generally of
his own making; but he seems to regard them as being
due to continual bad luck, and he is always quite ready to
transfer them to the shoulders of another, especially a
European. The method he adopts is to " touch " his
unfortunate victim for a loan, of which he seldom repays
any part, and still more seldom the whole.
I have heard Malays excusing themselves for their spend-
thrift nature by saying that their Prophet — I do not know
whether such a passage exists in the Koran or not — has
said that " Orang Islam ta^buleh jadi kaya " (Mohammedans
cannot become rich). It is no exaggeration to say that
among young Malays, especially in the towns, wages received
at the end of the month are spent by the second or third
day of that following. When, however, the spendthrift
advances in years, he often becomes penurious and grasping ;
and, though his heart is as flinty as ever, makes some show
of conforming to the observances of his religion.
Altogether the Mohammedan native is not usually a very
attractive personage. His manners are good, and, until you
know him better, he seems to have some real self-respect;
but this to my mind consists chiefly in showing resentment
to rough methods of address, and avenging slights or insults
Population &^ Races 31
real or fancied. The Malay word maiu, meaning ashamed,
is continually on the lips of natives, and especially of Moham-
medans ; but for a man to be ashamed to do, or of having
done, some scoundrelly action is rare ; he is only ashamed of
having been found out.
Probably the best that can be said of the Malays, the
Bajaus and the other Mohammedan tribes of Borneo is. that
they have a saving sense of humour and are keen sports-
men. They will, I think, certainly manage to keep their
place in the modern struggle for existence, just beginning
to be felt in Borneo ; they may not be highly successful, but
they will continue to exist, thanks chiefly to their rascality.
To turn again to the pagan natives for a while. These
tribes, especially the Dusuns, are the best native agri-
culturists in the country ; they are, generally speaking,
frugal and, at any rate at certain seasons of the year,
extremely hard workers. They should, with the protection
from raiding by the Mohammedans afforded them by the
Chartered Company, and the suppression of intertribal
head-hunting, be rapidly increasing, but I have considerable
doubts as to whether this is the case.
Periodical epidemics of small-pox, cholera and other
diseases have undoubtedly done a great deal to keep the
population down, but with the gradual opening up of the
country these foes may be fought and vanquished. The
mortality among children is, I believe, unduly high; and I
cannot help having an uneasy suspicion at the back of my
mind that the pagan tribes of the interior, being much more
unsophisticated than those of the coa^t, may suffer severely
both in numbers and vitality from the encroachments of
civilisation. This to many primitive peoples is a deadly
poison, and destroys them body and soul, bringing, as it
does, in its train new diseases, intoxicating liquors, clothes
unsuited to the savage, and which he does not change when
they are soaked with rain, new foods, new restrictions, new
customs and the destruction of old habits.
32 Population &^ Races
Unfortunately the process of disintegration and decay-
has often been aided and hastened by the efforts of well-
meaning but misguided missionaries and others, who, instead
of attempting to arrest the progress of many of the innova-
tions (e.g, the use of clothing), which have been partly
responsible for the decay of savage races, have deliberately
aided in their adoption, and have done everything in their
power to break down old customs, religious or otherwise.
Their fault has, of course, been that they have expected
the primitive savage still in, or little advanced from, the
Stone Age to turn himself immediately at their behest into
a civilised man like unto themselves, quite forgetting how
far back in prehistoric times it is necessary to go in Europe
to find peoples comparable in their state of development to
the uncivilised natives with whom they are dealing. Can we
wonder that the results of their well-meant but ill-advised
efforts have frequently been disastrous ?
Things have fortunately not reached such a pass in Borneo
as in the islands of Polynesia and Melanesia, and I hope
never will. The inhabitants of those islands have until,
comparatively speaking, recent times been absolutely isolated
from all contact with the rest of the world, consequently the
effect upon them of newly introduced habits and diseases
has been overwhelmingly disastrous, all these disintegrating
influences being let loose on them at once. The people,
before they have had time to recover from the effects of,
or accustom themselves to, a single disintegrating influence,
have been immediately inundated by a score of others.
In Borneo the situation is, I trust, more hopeful, for the
tribes inhabiting the interior of the island have reached a
much higher state of civilisation than those of the South
Seas, being able to work, and in some cases smelt, metals.
The brewing of intoxicating liquors is understood, one
made from rice — though not a true spirit, since it is not
distilled — containing a high percentage of alcohol. Thus
they will probably be better able to resist the evils of cheap
Population &^ Races 33
spirits than peoples who have no knowledge of intoxicants ;
yet the sale of cheap and fiery brandy, whisky, gin and
arrack, the vendors of which are the Chinese traders of the
gambling and spirit monopolies, should be stringently for-
bidden. (In some districts near the coast the effects of
cheap spirits upon the natives are even now, unfortunately,
only too apparent.) The prohibition to be entirely effective
would have to be absolute, since, if the sale of spirits were
made an offence only to natives of the country, though it
might to a certain extent prevent the rising generation from
taking to drink, a native would merely go to the first
Chinaman he knew and give him a present of five cents to
purchase a bottle of gin for him.
The inhabitants of Borneo are also probably fortunate in
not having been completely cut off from the outer world ;
for, though epidemics sometimes commit terrible ravages
among them, they have not to fear, to quite the same
extent as the Polynesians and Melanesians, the inroads of
civilisation. Their powers of resistance to diseases, especi-
ally to minor diseases, according to European ideas, such as
measles, which have wrought such havoc in the South Seas,
are fair, small-pox, cholera and dysentery being their greatest
enemies; and I do not think that they will so easily go
down before the generally corrosive influence of civilisation
as their fellows.
Still, I believe that, even now, the population in some
districts is decreasing, while in others it is stationary, or
shows a very small increase. Probably for a time this
state of things will continue, and decreases even become
more numerous and accelerated ; but I hope that after a
period of decrease the tribesmen will become inured to
the new and destructive agencies and will then be able to
hold their own and increase fairly rapidly.
The one thing which made me feel somewhat doubtful
on this point is the sparsity of the population in the
interior, for it has always seemed to me that where a race
34 Population ^ Races
which has been in part, or wholly, isolated from peoples
in a higher state of development is more or less suddenly
brought into contact with an advanced civilisation, a quick
process of decay sets in, but that whether this decay is to
lead to the final extinction of the race depends not only on its
recuperative powers, but on the density of the population
before it was attacked by the disintegrating influences.
That is to say that when the scattered remnants of a
population, which was always sparse, have acquired powers
of resistance to new conditions and diseases, their fate will
probably even then be extinction, or at any rate absorption
into the more civilised race of invaders, the remnants being
too few, too scattered and too effete ever to be capable of
again giving rise to fresh communities.
When, however, the population has been fairly numerous
to start with, and where the vitality of the race is
moderately good, we may hope that, after a long period
of decrease, it may after a time attain a stable condition,
and finally begin to increase again.
A case in point is afforded by the Maoris of New
Zealand, who, after decreasing continuously for many
years — they should now be extinct, according to one
writer, who, a good many years ago, calculating on their
rate of decrease, estimated that the last Maori should
have died some years back — are now actually again on
the increase, a state of things which it is to be hoped
will be maintained.
Should Borneo ever become largely occupied by Chinese,
it is not unlikely that a mixed race between these people
and the natives of the interior would quickly arise. The
Chinese bring but few women with them from their country,
and those members of the race who are settled in out-stations
at the present day have very largely married native wives,
taking them from one or other of the pagan peoples. Women
of the Mohammedan tribes, unless of bad character, they are,
of course, unable to obtain, since a father would refuse to
Population &P Races 35
let his daughter marry a Chinaman unless the latter would
turn Mohammedan, an occurrence which, though by no means
unknown, especially in the Malay Peninsula, is nevertheless
somewhat rare.
A census of the population of British North Borneo
was taken in 1 90 1 and another in 1 9 1 1 ; the former is,
however, so incomplete that it is to all intents and
purposes useless with regard to obtaining any idea of
increase or decrease in the native population, many of the
districts at the time it was taken being in such a disturbed
state that it was impossible to obtain any estimate of their
population.
^The results of the census of 1 9 1 1 show how enor-
mously the Dusuns preponderate in numbers over any
other division of the natives. The Dusuns are not a single
tribe, but an assemblage of tribes, or rather the appellation
embraces large numbers of village communities, some of
which can be grouped together as closely related owing to
identity in dialect and minor details of custom, while the
whole of them are roughly classed together as Orang Dusun,
owing to their similarity in language, beliefs and general
habits. Orang Dusun is not the name used by these natives
to describe themselves ; the people of each district or each
assemblage of village communities employs a different term,
but it is a name — meaning people of the orchards (orang =
people; dusun = a.n orchard) — used by the Malays to denote
those inhabitants of the greater part of the interior of British
North Borneo who appear to them to be of similar culture,
and live in villages surrounded by coco-nut palms and fruit
trees. ^
CHAPTER III
TRADE 6- INDUSTRIES
THE produce exported from British North Borneo
may, with the exception of a few articles, be
roughly placed under two headings : firstly, cul-
tivated produce, the chief articles of which are tobacco,
rubber, rice, sago, pepper, coco-nuts and copra ; secondly,
natural products, vegetable or animal, either in a raw or
partly manufactured condition. Among the latter may be
noticed timber, cutch, gutta-percha, jungle rubber, rattans,
beeswax, camphor, damar gum, edible birds'-nests (the
nests of a species of swift), mother-of-pearl shells, trepang
(dried sea-slugs or holothurians), sharks' fins (dried) and
dried fish.
The exploration of the country in search of minerals has,
so far, not been a great success, though coal is mined at
Sebatik on the east coast, and is used by steamers trading
with east coast ports ; borings are also being made for oil,
especially in the Klias Peninsula, but whether this product
is present in paying quantities appears to be a matter for
doubt.
Gold is found in several of the rivers, notably the Segama,
where dredging has been attempted, but so far gold- working
has not proved profitable for Europeans. Copper is known
to exist in one or two localities, but has not yet been
worked. " Blue ground " was some time ago announced
to exist on the Labuk river, and it was said that a second
Kimberley was awaiting the attentions of capitalists; but
the report proved to be incorrect, the formation not being
diamondiferous. A somewhat similar story also became
current with regard to manganese in the hinterland of the i
36 \
Trade &^ Industries 37
Marudu Bay region, but, though manganese exists, the
attempt to exploit the deposits was anything but a com-
mercial success.
Of the cultivated products, estate tobacco is grown chiefly
in the Darvel Bay district on the east coast and around
Marudu Bay in the north, this industry being largely in the
hands of Dutchmen. Bornean tobacco leaf is used for the
wrapping of cigars, a purpose for which it is particularly well
suited. Rubber, since the " boom," has been a good deal
planted, and many estates have been opened up, chiefly on
the west coast. The British North Borneo Government, in
order to foster this industry, has guaranteed planters that
no duty shall be levied on exported estate rubber for a
period of fifty years ; while in the case of some companies
it has pledged itself to pay five per cent, interest on the
capital to the shareholders, until such time as the trees shall
come into bearing.
Land for rubber-planting is let by the Government on 999
year leases. The labour chiefly used on the rubber estates
is Chinese, Javanese and native. The supply of the last is
somewhat irregular, and daily labourers are liable to desert
the estates in a body at the rice-planting and harvest seasons.
Chinese labour is, or was, almost entirely contract labour,
the coolies signing an agreement to work for a certain
number of years.
With regard to the two districts of Borneo which I know,
there were three estates in being — one of these had just
been opened at the time that I left the country. The labour
was Chinese and native, the native labourers being Dusuns
and Bajaus, the former excellent workers and the latter in
most cases the exact reverse. I remember once going
^ round an estate in the Tuaran district with my manager,
fairly late in the afternoon. He drew my attention to a
gang of labourers who were all Bajaus. "Do you see that
gang ? " he said. " Well, I put a gang of Dusuns and a
gang of Bajaus on to weed round these trees this morning.
38 Trade &^ Industries
I gave each man a task of a fixed number of trees, and when
a man had done his task he was at Hberty to knock off work
for the day. The Dusuns finished — some at eleven, some
at twelve, and some at one o'clock, but you see that most
of the Bajaus won't have finished their jobs by five."
The majority of the Bajau labourers are under contracts,
these being generally made for a term of six months or a
year, but a large proportion of the Dusuns are free labourers.
The labour laws of British North Borneo require drastic
revision in order that Bajau labourers may be protected
against themselves; the actual contracts are fair enough,
but owing to the Bajau's reckless habits he often becomes
little better than a slave on the estate for which he is work-
ing, with the exception that he receives pay for his work.
Matters are now (19 15) somewhat improved, and most
estates seem to be using Chinese and Javanese labour more
than native.
The usual method of recruiting coolies, as far as my
experience goes, is something of this kind. The manager
of an estate takes out a licence to recruit cooHes in a
certain district and dispatches a recruiter, whom he has en-
trusted with anything between two hundred and five hundred
dollars, to obtain labourers. The recruiter goes and hangs
about outside the gambling-shop — unless he is inside gamb-
ling with his employer's money — and on seeing that a native
has lost goes up to him and says : " Hullo, So-and-so ! do
you want a loan to try your luck again with ? " The native,
especially if he is a Bajau or Illanun, will almost certainly
reply that he does. "Very well," says the recruiter.
"How much do you want?" The Bajau replies that he
wants ten, fifteen, twenty, or even thirty dollars, as the case
may be. The recruiter advances the money with the stipula-
tion that the native shall come and work on Blank Estate for
a period of six months, an agreement to that effect to be
signed in the presence of the District Ofl^cer.
When the recruiter has obtained suflScient labourers
Trade &^ Industries 39
he, after a great deal of trouble, and probably some heart-
searchings on his own part as to how he is going to account
for the money he has himself lost in gambling, gets together
his gang of coolies and takes them to be signed on.
In the Tempassuk, where I was stationed for some time,
the coolies did not have their contracts signed at the Govern-
ment post, Kotabelud, but were taken down on foot to
Tuaran, since they were to work in the district of that name.
The District OiEcer, North Keppel, who resides at Tuaran,
is in charge of the Tuaran and Tempassuk districts forming
the northern portion of Province Keppel. An Assistant
District Officer or a Cadet is stationed in the Tempassuk,
and is, of course, under the former officer. Before leaving
the Tempassuk, any coolies who had not yet paid their poll-
tax for the year were obliged to do so ; and I found that
almost invariably this necessitated a further application for
money to the recruiter, the usual demand being for two
dollars, one to pay the tax, the other for expenses by the
way. The money borrowed previously had, in nearly all
cases, found its way into the hands of the gambling-shop
keeper.
Arrived on the estate, the coolies were without money and
without food, and moreover had a considerable debt to work
off, though, provided they did not borrow still more, one
which could easily be settled during the period of their
contract, instalments not exceeding a fixed percentage of
the wages being deducted monthly. Borrow again almost
immediately is, however, just what they usually did; and, so
long as their debt did not assume huge proportions, the
estate managers were not particularly averse from giving
loans, since this only meant that the coolies would have to
work the longer for them.
Facilities for gambling, if the coolies were unable to
visit the gambling farm, were to be found on the estates,
some Chinaman being sure to start an illicit establishment.
Coolies who are heavily in debt often desert, but are
40 Trade &^ Industries
almost invariably caught, their captors, generally either
police or native headmen, being given a capture fee. The
deserter is brought up in court, and only two courses are
open to the magistrate : he may either fine the man and
send him back to the estate, the fine being paid by the
estate manager, and the amount of capture fees, fine and
costs added to the wretched coolie's debt ; or he may, if the
coolie has run away before, order him a whipping with a
rattan cane, the coolie's debt in this case — he is sent back
to the estate just the same — only being augmented by the
costs of the case and the capture fee.
It usually comes about that unthrifty coolies, especially
Bajaus, are still heavily in debt when the period of their
agreement is over. They thus remain on the estate, often
for several years, and by constant borrowings keep them-
selves in a miserable condition. Should they run away, they
will be brought back, fined, and the amount of the fine
and any costs incurred added to what they already owe.
Now, though I do not approve of the whipping of run-
away contract coolies, it cannot be said that there is anything
unfair in the contracts or the treatment of the coolies. The
most objectionable feature with regard to Bajau contract
labour seems to me to be that advantage is taken of the
weakness of the Bajaus in the matter of borrowing money.
That this should be so is no credit to the Chartered Com-
pany. A short enactment providing that coolies should be
free to leave any estate on the expiration of their agreements,
however much their indebtedness, would place on the estate
manager's shoulders the onus of seeing that coolies should
not obtain such large or such constant advances that they
should go home still owing the estate money.
I well remember a poor old couple coming to me to ask
for assistance, shortly before I left Borneo. They told me —
they were both almost in tears — that their son had signed
on for six months as a coolie to work on an estate near
Beaufort, some four years before, "and now," said they.
Trade &^ Industries 41
"-we hear from a man who has just come from Beaufort
that he is still there, almost without clothes and heavily in
debt. If you can find him for us we will pay his debts so
that he can come home." I wrote to try and find their
son for them — they did not know the name of the estate
and their informant had left the district — but I had not
received an answer when I left Borneo. I often wonder if
they saw their prodigal again.
About the tobacco estates I know very little, since I have
never been in a tobacco district, but from hearsay I believe
that the Chinese coolies are often very badly swindled
by their headmen or tandils. These men become very
well-to-do, and on account of their exactions are much
disliked by their compatriots the coolies. In consequence,
it is not uncommon for a tandil mysteriously to disappear.
Of objects of cultivation other than rubber, coco-nut
palms do very well near the coasts, but hitherto their
cultivation has been principally carried on by natives and
Chinese. Pepper was some years ago fairly extensively
cultivated by Chinese settlers, but for various reasons
many of the estates were abandoned. There is now,
however, I understand, some revival of pepper-planting,
especially in the neighbourhood of Sandakan. Sago mills
for treating the pith of the sago palm exist at Mempakol,
but lately, at any rate, I believe they have not been a
financial success. Timber, which is chiefly exported to
China, is of excellent quality, two hard woods called by
the natives bilian and selangan batu being especially worthy
of remark.
The natural products of the jungle are sought after
by native collectors, the Dyaks, small parties of whom
^ frequently come to British North Borneo from Sarawak to
hunt for rubber, being especially expert jungle men. The
Dusuns, the Muruts and other tribes are also skilled collectors,
and bring dow^n to the markets, or to the Chinese shops of
the out-stations, loads of beeswax, rattans and damar gum.
42 Trade &^ Industries
the last being collected either at the bases of the trees from
which it exudes, mostly species of Shorea^ or dug for hi the
earth around the trunk.
Mother-of-pearl shells are obtained by Bajau or other
native divers.
Edible birds'-nests, made by the Chinese into soup, which
is supposed to be a great luxury and also to have strengthen-
ing properties, are obtained chiefly from caves near the coast
or on islands, especially the Mantanani Group, though there
are also caves up-country which yield them. In a good many
cases these caves are the property of families of natives, who
collect the nests for market. From those in the Mantanani
Islands as many as four collections are made yearly, the
Government selling the nests and taking a proportion of the
proceeds, while the balance is handed over to the native
proprietors and the collectors. White nests of good or even
fair quality may realise as much as sixteen or seventeen
dollars per kattie (ij- lb.) locally, but the Singapore price
for first-class nests is much higher. Black nests — that is,
nests in which feathers are mixed with the gelatine-like
secretion of which they are formed — fetch only about four
to six dollars per kattie locally, though when they have been
carefully cleaned they probably command almost as high a
price as white nests of fair quality.
The British North Borneo Company does not itself
engage in trade, its revenue — some of which, when there is
a surplus, goes to pay interest to the shareholders — being
derived from a poll-tax of one dollar imposed on every adult
male native, the letting of the gambling, opium and spirit
monopolies, duties under a somewhat comprehensive import
tariff, which ranges from five per cent, ad valorem on im-
ported food-stuffs to ten or fifteen per cent, on most manu-
factured articles, export duties, the letting of public markets,
royalties on certain products, tobacco licences, the sale and
rent of forest-lands, suburban lots and town sites, and land
revenue.
Trade &^ Industries 43
That the Company shall not engage in trade, which is
forbidden under its charter, is, of course, an excellent rule,
but for all this the existence of a Chartered Company at the
present day is not easily justified. The fates and destinies
of a large native population rest entirely in its hands, and it
must be remembered that such a concern is not a philan-
thropic association, nor has it the disinterestedness of the
Government of a British colony: it is, if possible, "out to
get dividends."
Now I have not the slightest wish to make any charges
against the Chartered Company's administration, much less
against its servants in the East, whom I believe to be
extremely conscientious, but I consider it a mistake to allow
any body of men, who have monetary interests, to have
absolute control over a large territory; for as long as human
nature is what it is there must always be a temptation for
the directors and shareholders in such a company to sanction
— all honour to them if they do not — revenue-producing
schemes which may be exceedingly damaging to the native
peoples entrusted to their care. In fact there must be a
possibility of those who are largely interested in a company
caring little from what sources and in what manner dividends
are procured, so long as they obtain them.
Unfortunately it is not necessarily the case, though some
officials would seem to think so, that the larger the revenue
extracted from a country the greater the happiness of its
inhabitants.
The articles chiefly imported into British North Borneo
are European manufactured goods, those designed for the
native trade being in the majority of cases cheap, flashy,
and made in Germany. (This was written before the war.)
Among them are gaudily printed cloths of various kinds,
beads, knives, toilet soaps, scent, tobacco-boxes, enamelled
ware and mirrors. These are to be found in every Chinese
store in the out-stations, together with various kinds of cloth
of better quality, kerosene, soap, spices, sulphur, copper
44 Trade &^ Industries
sulphate, cooking pots, yellow soap, matches, thread,
needles, etc., etc.
Means of communication in Borneo are but little de-
veloped ; but a narrow-gauge railway, of which the con-
struction is extremely bad, runs from Jesselton to Beaufort
on the Padas river, fifty-seven miles distant. Beaufort is a
junction from which two branch lines start, one running to
Weston, twenty miles away on the coast, nearly opposite to
Labuan; the other to Tenon, the present terminus of the
railway to the interior.
The British North Borneo Company has recently raised a
considerable sum of money by means of issuing Mortgage
Debentures, and a portion of this is to be devoted to the
reconstruction of the railway. An extension from Jesselton
to Tuaran was projected, but this, owing to the war, has
been postponed indefinitely.
A telegraphic system links Jesselton with Kudat via
Kotabelud, and also Jesselton indirectly with Sandakan via
Mempakol on the west coast, through which place runs the
cross-country line connecting Sandakan with the latter station.
Thence the line is continued as a submarine cable to Labuan.
Separate lines also connect Kaningau in the Murut country
with Tambunan, and Batu Puteh on the east coast with
Lahad Datu, the headquarters of the East Coast Residency.
Bridle-paths link up many of the out-stations, especially on
the west coast, one system extending from Jesselton through
Tuaran and Kotabelud to Kudat, another from Kotabelud to
Bundutuhan and the Interior. Wireless stations have also
been recently opened.
CHAPTER IV
THE TUARAN &- TEMPASSUK DISTRICTS
THESE two districts, with which this book chiefly
deals, form the northern half of Province Keppel, on
the west coast of British North Borneo. Formerly
a District OflScer was in charge of each of them, but of
recent years a senior officer, with the title of District OflBcer,
North Keppel, has been stationed at Tuaran, the Government
post in the district of that name, and an Assistant District
OflScer, or a Cadet, at Kotabelud, the Government post in
the Tempassuk district. During my residence in Borneo,
except for a couple of months at Tuaran with the District
Officer, I was in charge of the latter district, receiving a visit
of inspection from my superior ofl^icer about once a month.
The easiest way to reach Tuaran is by boat from Jessel-
ton. Embarking in a Bajau prahu, adapted either for sailing
or rowing, and pushing off from the iron pier at Jesselton,
we have the prospect of some hours' journey before reaching
the little Bajau fishing village below Gantisan Head, where
a disembarkation is made. On the way we pass the mouths
of the Inanam and Mengatal rivers, in days of " not so very
long ago" the haunt of bands of Bajau "rebels."
On reaching the headland the boat is left behind; the
boatmen shoulder our baggage; we climb the steep sides
of the long promontory, reach its summit, and descend again
to the Mengkabong river — rather an inlet of the sea than
a true river, which runs out beyond Gantisan Head. Here
we find another boat with a crew of Bajau paddlers waiting
for us. By cutting across the promontory we have avoided
the long journey round it and possibly a rough time on the
bar at the river mouth.
45
46 The Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts
Paddling up the mangrove-fringed Mengkabong, we at
length arrive at a large Bajau village which has the same
name as the " river." This village is built entirely on, or
rather over, the water : the pile-dwellings of the inhabitants
are sometimes connected by crazy gangways, but the only
method of getting about for more than a few dozen yards
is by embarking in a little cockle-shell of a dug-out canoe.
Arrived at Mengkabong, we disembark for the second
time, and a three-mile walk lies before us ere we reach
Tuaran. Once well away from the Mengkabong, we leave
the Bajau villages behind us and pass into swampy plain-
lands, the padi-fields of the Dusun villagers. As we near
Tuaran we see the belt of trees which marks the Tuaran
river, with Dusun villages straggling along its bank; and
at length we arrive at Tuaran with its District Officer's
bungalow on a hill, its police barracks, office and lock-up
on the level ground below.
The easiest way of reaching Kotabelud, the Government
post in the Tempassuk district, is to take a passage in the
small local steamer, which makes a trip round the coast once
a fortnight. This boat puts in at the wooden pier in Usakan
Bay, about seven or eight miles away from Kotabelud.
Leaving Usakan wharf, the path passes over the hills,
which lie in a ring around the bay, and dips again to the
inlet of the sea called the Abai. This has to be crossed
in a Bajau prahu, and during the crossing we have leisure
to observe the columns of smoke which arise from near
some of the Bajau houses, which are scattered here and
there along the mangrove-fringed shores of the inlet. These
indicate that the inhabitants are at work making salt by a
peculiar process, which I describe in another chapter.
Arrived on the other side, there remains a walk or ride
partly over hills covered with lalang grass, partly below
their bases along the edge of a plain converted into padi-
fields, on the other side of which lie the Illanun villages
around P'ort Alfred, formerly the Government post. Past
The Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts 47
Fort Alfred we again meet with a little up-and-down
travelling and finally arrive at Kotabelud.
This settlement consists of rather under a score of Chinese
shops, while the European officer's house stands at one end
of a long hill covered with scrub and lalang. The upper
part of the fort — also on the hill — is used as barracks for
unmarried police, while the lower parts are protected by a
wall of river stones built up within two fences of corrugated-
iron sheets. Quarters for married police lie below the fort,
on the side of the hill facing the Tempassuk river. The
Government office is on the hill-side above the shops ; and
below the ridge, at the fort end, comes the Bajau village
of Kotabelud, in charge of which is Keruak, one of the best
Bajaus I have ever known.
From the top of the hill, on which stand the European
officer's house and the barracks, magnificent views can be
obtained. Seawards there is the mouth of the Tempassuk
river; the sandy sea-shore fringed here and there with
Casuarina trees, and the low, swampy plains which lie
behind it, while away in the distance can be seen the
Mantanani Islands, from the caves in which are brought
large quantities of edible birds'-nests.
Inland, towering up to the skies, is Mount Kinabalu, its
seaward face rising sheer up, apparently almost from the
plains, its black and forbidding rocks relieved only by two
white streaks, made by waterfalls which plunge sheer down
its face for many hundreds of feet. To the left of Kinabalu
is the range of hills of which the great mountain is itself a
member. This range, none of the other peaks of which
approach Kinabalu in height or grandeur, is covered with
big jungle and runs almost parallel with the sea in the
direction of Kudat. The laiang-cowered foot-hills below
the range, among which nestle a few Dusun villages,
gradually die away into mere undulations, and these in
turn give place to dry plains, and finally to the marshlands
of the coast.
48 The Tuaran &P Tempassuk Districts
From the hill at Kotabelud too can be seen the Tempassuk
or Kadamaian river, which flows beneath it, while its course
can be followed with the eye for several miles towards the
interior, walled in on the right by the hill ranges that
separate its valley from that of the Tuaran river, which also
takes its rise in Mount Kinabalu. To the right of Kinabalu
lies a conical hill named Nunkok, also on the farther side of
the Tempassuk river.
Dusun villages, Piasau, the two Tamboulians and others,
are dotted about the plains on the other side of the Tem-
passuk opposite to our post of observation, while Perasan,
the most inland Bajau village, which has the reputation of
sheltering some of the worst characters and biggest cattle-
thieves in the district, lies up-stream, on the same side of
the river, and almost at our feet. The whole length of the
Tempassuk valley inland is inhabited by the Dusuns, whose
villages are mostly perched on hill-tops on either side of the
river.
Away over the swampy plains in the direction of Kudat
runs a narrow bridle-path. Beyond the swamps the ground
rises slightly and the traveller comes to the Bajau and
Illanun villages around Pindasan, once the haunt of pirates.
At this place the big jungle from the main range runs down
towards the coast and the country is more or less jungly as
far as Metanau, a Dusun village near which there is a halting-
hut. Never having been farther than this point, I cannot
speak of the country which lies beyond, but the path
continues right on to Kudat.
With the exception of the plains that lie between the sea
and the range running parallel with it — of which Kinabalu
is the highest point — the Tempassuk district consists of little
but the valley of the Kadamaian river and the hills on
either side of it. The farthest point in the district, at the
divide over which it is necessary to pass to the Interior, can
be comfortably reached on foot in five days from the coast,
and with a little harder walking in four. From Kotabelud
An Up-Country View in the Tempassuk District.
This view, taken on the bridle-path to the Interior, shows the Kadamaian River far below. Mount
Nabalu in the clouds on the left of the picture, and Mount Nunkok on the right.
The Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts 49
the ground rises almost continuously as far as the divide,
which is said to be about 8000 feet above sea-level. The
bridle-path to the Interior, which is, in the up-country
regions, cut into the steeply sloping side of the valley,
follows the left bank of the river, winding in and out
according to the contours of the hills.
Leaving Usakan, a traveller would probably sleep for the
first night at Kotabelud, the European officer in charge,
judging from my own experience, usually being only too
glad to put up any chance European wanderer. Coolies
being procured, a start would be made next day for either
Tamu Darat (seven miles or so away), or more probably for
Ghinambur, a little farther on, at both of which places there
are halting-huts. If, however, there is need for haste,
Kabaiau halting-hut, nineteen (?) miles from Kotabelud, and
on the river-bank facing the village of the same name, can
be reached in a day's journey. The villagers were ordered
to move down to the river as a punishment for misbehaviour.
They have now ( 1 9 1 5) gone back again to their old village
on a hill above the river. This, however, is rather hard
going for a traveller who wishes to observe and note
everything he passes.
The fourth day's journey will take him on to Kaung, and
here again the resting-hut faces the village across the river.
On the fifth day, if he does not take the branch track to
Kiau village, which is situated on the other side of the river
on the slopes of Kinabalu at a height of 3000 odd feet, he
should reach the last halting-hut in the district at a place
called Singarun.
This is built on a spur of the hills at a height of about
5000 feet, and opposite to Kiau village, on which it looks
down. From the spur a magnificent view of Kinabalu is
obtained and, looking seaward, of the valley of the Tem-
passuk. In fine weather the air is most exhilarating, but if
rain comes on, the traveller, unless provided with warm
clothes, will find it distinctly chilly. The only drawback to
50 The Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts
the place is that there is no spring near at hand, and water
has to be brought from a distance by means of a cleverly
constructed aqueduct, built of bamboos split lengthwise,
which are supported here and there on slight trestles of
saplings.
From Singarun, sometimes called Dallos, after a walk of
a few miles along the bridle-path, the top of the divide
w^hich separates the Tempassuk district from the Interior
province is reached. Here in my time the bridle-path
came to an end, not having been linked up with that from
the Interior, which stopped short at Bundutuhan, or a little
beyond it. These two sections have now, however, probably
been joined.
The Tuaran district, of which I have much less know-
ledge than of the Tempassuk, consists of the valley of the
Tuaran river and a strip of land near the coast, extending
nearly as far as Jesselton. It contains — but can scarcely be
said to be watered by — the Mengkabong, Menggatal and
Inanam rivers. Farther back from the sea the country be-
comes rugged, while the hills which divide off the district
from the Interior are really a continuation of the range of
which Mount Kinabalu is the highest point.
Along the coast, to the northward of the mouth of the
(Kuala) Tuaran, is an inlet of the sea called the Sulaman,
into which there flow various small streams. On this inlet,
and near its mangrove-fringed shores, are scattered Bajau
villages, built on piles like those at Mengkabong. A bridle-
path runs from Tuaran to Kotabelud, but the journey is
made easier by walking or riding the first six miles to Kindu
on the Sulaman, and thence, taking a Bajau prahu across the
inlet, ascending a side-channel, or stream, and disembarking
about a mile from the Dusun village of Tenghilan, near
which the North Borneo Trading Company has fairly
recently (191 1) opened a rubber estate. The distances
given in this chapter are not, I believe, very correct. In
The Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts 51
some cases they may be ^^ out " to the extent of a couple of
miles.
Spending the night at Tenghilan halting-bungalow, the
next day's journey will see the traveller reach Kotabelud,
distant thirteen miles, after traversing a very up-and-down
bridle-path along the top of a range of small hills. The
boundary of the two districts is some little distance from
Tenghilan on the Kotabelud side of it.
The British North Borneo Company has recently been
negotiating for fresh capital; this, if obtained, is to be used
among other things for repairs to the railway, of which it
stands in great need, and the construction of a branch line
from Jesselton to Tuaran. At present a bridle-path, known
as the Likas path, covers this ground.
The Tempassuk, iaus Deo, has not yet been " developed,"
and both this beautiful country and its natives are free from
the blighting influence of the European capitalist. Its main
exports are cattle, fowls, hides, ground-nuts, edible birds'-
nests from the Mantanani Islands, native -grown tobacco,
damar gum, mother-of-pearl shells and a little wild rubber
and beeswax. The wide plains of the district, although
the grass is somewhat coarse, aflford pasturage for large
herds of buffaloes and cattle, while a herd of mixed breed,
a cross between Indian humped sires and native cows, is
kept by Government. Little sure-footed native ponies are
also reared in fair numbers, though natives pay little or no
attention to the mating of desirable animals, both ponies and
cattle being allowed to run wild until required for use.
The buffaloes and cattle go about in big herds, and are
only interfered with when the calves are marked by their
owners, which is generally done by nicking or cutting the
ear with a knife, each man having his own mark or marks,
or when an animal is required for a feast, for training as a
beast of burden, or for riding.
The articles imported into the district are such as are
calculated to be of use to the natives, or to attract them by
52 The Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts
their flashy appearance : blue-black cloth for making coats
and trousers, cheap singlets and shirts, ready-made coats
and trousers, hats, belts, thread, buttons, beads, needles,
German cutlery, cooking-pots, looking-glasses, parang blades,
tin lamps, kerosene, soap, tinware, flashy jewellery, cheap
brands of canned salmon and sardines, beer, Chinese-made
aerated waters, tobacco, dried fish, shrimp-paste, rice, spices,
gambler, betel-nut, scissors, brass tobacco and betel boxes, all
of which, with many other things, are to be found in the
Chinese general shops at Kotabelud.
During the time that I was stationed at this place there
was also a shop run by the Gambling Opium and Spirits and
Pawnshop Farmer's representative. This retailed vile spirits
and opium, and had a separate room set apart for gambling.
Spirits are no longer sold at Kotabelud — a very good
thing. The gambling part of the establishment was always
crowded with lazy Bajaus, mostly intent on losing every-
thing they possessed ; but several of the local shopkeepers
and their assistants were also bitten by the gambling mania.
I am, as a rule, very much opposed to any interference
with the liberty of the subject, but I have special reasons
for thinking that natives should not be allowed to gamble
with the Chinese, or to buy drink from them ; these I have
set forth in another chapter. Drink is not as yet much
purchased by natives, with the exception of some lowland
Dusuns, but matters are worse in this respect at Tuaran.
A few of the Bajaus and Illanuns, and especially some
of the chiefs, are opium smokers, but luckily the Dusuns
have so far not taken to this vice.
The coasts and river estuaries of both districts are in-
habited by the Bajaus, a Proto-Malayan people, who are
essentially maritime. They appear to be fairly recent
invaders, who have driven back the Indonesian Dusuns
from those parts of the country in which they are now
settled. On the east coast of Borneo the Bajaus are
still wanderers, sea-gipsies, who are born, live and die in
The Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts 53
their boats. On the west coast they are settled, either
building pile-villages in the estuaries or constructing dwell-
ings on the land close to a river.
They eke out a living by fishing, salt-making and cattle-
rearing, and in addition they are padi-planters on a small
scale ; but their crop is rarely large enough to support them
till the next harvest. In the old days they were renowned
as pirates, their name in this respect being only a little less
dreaded than that of the Illanuns, another tribe which is
found in the Tempassuk, but not in the Tuaran district.
The latter are, like the Bajaus, nominal Mohammedans.
They also are invaders, having come in their piratical craft
from Mindanao, the southernmost of the Philippine Islands,
but are much more recent arrivals than the Bajaus. They
formerly had a settlement in the Tuaran district, but the
Dusuns made things so uncomfortable for them, by hanging
about and cutting off stragglers, that they eventually aban
doned it. At present their villages in the Tempassuk are
to be found near Fort Alfred, and around and beyond
Pindasan.
The Dusuns, an Indonesian people, with a slight penchant
for head-hunting, inhabit the plain-lands, foot-hills and upland
.regions of both districts. They are excellent agriculturists
and generally hard workers, hospitable, though somewhat
given to drunkenness, peaceful, and even rather cowardly,
in spite of their head-hunting exploits.
I have so far spoken of Dusuns and Bajaus as if these
were the names of two tribes or peoples, and they certainly
are the names by which they are generally known to the
Malays and other strangers in the country, but they are not
the designations which they apply to themselves. The
Bajaus call themselves Orang Sama or Sama men. The
tribe which we speak of as Dusun or Dusuns is known
to the Malays by that name, which means the "people of
the orchards," to the Bajaus of the Tempassuk as Idaan,
and to the Sulus (or Suluks) as Sun Dyaks. In the
54 The Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts
Tempassuk the Dusuns call themselves Tindai, but the
people of Tuaran, or at least the inhabitants of the villages
near the Government post, seem to dub themselves Suang
Latud (men of the country?). The up-country people of
the Tuaran district I have not visited, but I believe that
they also acknowledge Tindal as a designation.
According to the census of 191 1, the native population of
the two districts by race was —
Tuaran District
Bajaus .... Sfi^Z
Dusuns .... 16,785
Illanuns .... 7
Tempassuk District
Bajaus .... 3,448
Illanuns .... 1,299
Dusuns . . . . 10,256
In addition there were in the Tuaran district: Europeans
3, Chinese 495 (many employed as coolies on rubber
estates), Japanese i, Philippines 6, natives of India 4, natives
of Netherlands East Indies 2, natives of the Sulu Archipelago
9, Bruneis 54, Dyaks 14, Muruts 3, Tidongs i.
In the Tempassuk district: Europeans i, Chinese 62,
Philippines 3, Malays i, natives of India 2, natives of
Netherlands East Indies 15, natives of Sulu Archipelago
21, Bruneis 8, Dyaks 26, Muruts 6, Orang Sungei 4.
The total population of the Tuaran district was 23,067;
that of the Tempassuk 15,152.
Since the rubber boom three estates have been opened
in the Tuaran district, worked partly with Chinese contract
labour, partly with locally recruited natives. Of these three
the North Borneo Trading Company owns two, one on the
Damit river near Tuaran, the other at Tenghilan. The
third estate, belonging to the Beaufort Borneo Rubber
Company, is at Menggatal. Probably the labour question
The Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts 55
and high prices will be the greatest difficulties with which
Bornean rubber planters will have to contend. Native
labour is insufficient in quantity and unreliable. Among
the Chinese Borneo has rather a bad name, and the Indian
Government will not allow its subjects to be recruited for
labour in the country.
The Tempassuk district is policed by a force of about
twenty native constables, who are armed with carbines.
The native police are recruited from any of the tribes of
Borneo, and at the time I was stationed in the district the
following were represented : — Sea Dyaks, Dusuns, Muruts,
Bajaus, Illanuns and Orang Sungei, the Dyaks being in
the majority over the members of any other tribe. At
Tuaran also there were formerly only native police, but,
owing to the threatening attitude of newly imported Chinese
coolies on the Sungei Damit Estate, a small number of Indian
police were stationed there shortly before I left the country,
but they have now been withdrawn.
I will here set down clearly that when in the succeeding
chapters of this book I speak of Tuaran or the natives of
Tuaran, I mean, unless otherwise stated, the part of the
district around the Government post and the inhabitants
of the neighbouring villages. I have never visited the
Ulu (head-waters of the) Tuaran, though I have met many
natives of that region, as they frequently come into the
Tempassuk district to trade. I believe that their manners
and customs are very similar to those of the up-country
Dusuns of the Tempassuk.
CHAPTER V
THE JUNGLE
WHAT is the average stay-at-home reader's idea of
an Eastern jungle? Judging by what I can re-
member of my own early impressions, gathered
from reading various books of travel, I believe that I pictured
a dark and gloomy forest where the light of day hardly
penetrated, and where walking was almost an impossibility.
This sombre scene was relieved by the presence of gorgeously
coloured and strongly perfumed flowers depending from trail-
ing creepers which hung from tree to tree. In addition to
the flowers there were brilliantly plumaged birds, which flitted
from bough to bough before the traveller, while troops of
monkeys chattered and screamed among the branches over-
head. Enormous butterflies with jewelled wings sailed
across the open spaces in the forest, and gigantic horned
beetles watched the intruder from every log of rotting
wood. Pythons curled themselves round branches overhang-
ing the only track, herds of tapirs, pig or deer, frightened
at the approach of human beings, stampeded through the
undergrowth of graceful palms and tree ferns which reared
their heads on all sides, and the atmosphere was that of a
hot-house in Kew Gardens.
The reality is apt to be somewhat disappointing, as, though
there are plenty of interesting objects, the beautiful birds and
flowers refuse to display themselves, nor are herds of game
or enormous snakes commonly met with in the jungle. As
a matter of fact, though there are some lovely flowers,
especially orchids, they are rarely seen, and an Eastern jungle
can show us nothing which can compare with the spectacle
of an English wood carpeted with primroses, hyacinths or
56
The Jungle 57
anemones. Graceful palms, rattans, creepers and enormous
buttressed tree-trunks constitute its chief charm, but the
foliage in general is of a rather sombre hue and never shows
the glories of late spring or autumn in England.
Birds, as has been remarked above, are little seen, but
if we listen for a while they will probably be heard calling
gently in the thick undergrowth or in the mass of foliage
overhead. Sometimes as we are poling up a narrow river
shut in by the jungle on either bank a gorgeous kingfisher
will dart away ahead of us, or we may hear a sound like
that of an axe ringing on wood, followed by several deep-
voiced chuckles and the creak of wings, as a hornbill of the
kind which the Malays call Burong tebang mentua flies off at
our approach.
The name means "the bird who felled his mother-in-law,"
and a legend tells how a man once went to his mother-in-law
to borrow some salt, and that on being refused he flew into a
rage and chopped through the posts of her house, bringing
it to the ground. When the house fell he went into fits of
laughter, and for these impious actions he was transformed
into a bird, whose note, as a warning to mankind, resembles
the sound of a man working w^ith an axe and laughing. The
crooning note of green pigeons, the kind which are caught
with call-bamboos, is also often heard.
Butterflies there are in plenty in the open spaces, particu-
larly, I think, in clearings near secondary jungle — />. jungle
which has been felled once and has grown up again. In the
Tempassuk district the bridle-path leading to the Interior is
a favourite haunt of theirs. Wherever a trickle of water
crosses the path butterflies swarm; in some places dozens of
yellows and whites, all busy drinking up the moisture; in
others species with the outer sides of the wings like dead
leaves, but with reddish brown colouring within ; handsome
fellows with black wings marked with patches of blue ;
swallow-tails yellow and black or green and black ; enormous
insects chiefly black, but with patches of brilliant yellow — all
58 The Jungle
these are to be seen. Many of the most beautiful butter-
flies, like the EngHsh Purple Emperor, have a taste for very
unsavoury food, and the filth under native houses, dead
animals or buffalo dung are all fruitful hunting grounds for
the entomologist.
Big game is seldom met with in the jungle. Deer and
pigs have a liking for the neighbourhood of native gardens
or padi-fields, much to the detriment of the crops and the
annoyance of the owners. Timbadau, a kind of wild cattle
(^Bos sondaiacus)^ are found in the Tempassuk in the big
jungle around Metanau, which lies beyond Pindasan, and
there may be an occasional rhinoceros on the range which
runs from Kinabalu in the direction of Kudat. Elephants
are not found on the west coast. The muntjac or barking
deer and the mouse deer are common.
Snakes are to be met with but rarely, though occasionally
one may be seen swimming a stream or gliding away through
the undergrowth.
Two kinds of animals in the jungle force themselves on
every traveller's attention; these are leeches and ants. The
former are the most insistent, but they can be warded off to
a certain extent by wearing putties. Leeches are found in
damp places, chiefly on decaying leaves; here they often
form little colonies and when somebody has passed near
them may be watched standing on end and reaching out in
all directions in search of an unwilling host. Their pertin-
acity is marvellous : they will mount a boot and either climb
straight away till they reach the leg, or will march with their
loping gait to the eyelets of the boots, squeeze through
one of these, and then chmb up inside till they get to the top,
and so over the sock until they reach their feeding ground ;
or if there should happen to be a hole in the sock — not an
unknown thing among Bornean bachelors — they will find it
at once, and begin blood-sucking.
I can well remember my feeling of disgust the first time
that I turned down one of my socks and saw a full-fed leech.
The Jungle 59
which looked more like a small black grape than anything
else I can think of. Sometimes a leech-bite is felt quite
sharply, but if one attacks any part of the body which is
not well supplied with nerves, the first intimation that the
creature has been at work is a gradually spreading crimson
stain on the clothes, the leech having fed to the full and
dropped off. It is advisable never to pull a leech away, as,
if this is done, a bite often refuses to heal — I believe
through the animal leaving its jaws in the wound. I
generally get rid of them by lighting a cigarette and putting
the burning end on their backs, but I have seen Dyaks
carrying some salt for the purpose, which they had tied up
in a little screw of rag. This when moistened and applied to
a leech makes it let go very quickly.
Ants do not as a rule give much trouble unless provisions
are carelessly left exposed or are not packed in ant-proof
receptacles; but jam, open tins of sugar, or condensed milk,
if not placed in a saucer of water, will in about half-an-hour
become alive with them. Two kinds of ant commonly met
with have very painful bites : one is the fire ant or semut api
(Malay), which goes in processions, the other a species of
large red ant called kerengga by the Malays, which builds
nests among the foliage of the smaller trees.
Small jungle-crabs are sometimes seen scuttling over the
leaves near the banks of a stream, while centipedes and
scorpions are also to be found, but I have seen the former
more commonly in houses than elsewhere, and with the latter
I have only had one little adventure, though I have occasion-
ally come across them. MiUipedes are common and attain a
large size; in the Malay States I have seen a mass of, I
should think, several hundreds of them collected together in
one place. A Sakai who was with me at the time said that
it was a mother with young, and certainly one was consider-
ably larger than the rest and of a rather red colour, while
all the others were greyish. Sometimes curious frogs are
met with ; these have two projecting horns over the eyes and
6o The Jungle
markings and a coloration which makes them look like dead
leaves.
Borneo produces some very fine hard-wood timbers, and
among the best of them are two kinds called salangan batu
and bilian. Rita is a soft wood, which, undressed, makes
excellent timber for rafters under thatch and for other parts
of buildings where it is not exposed to damp. Its only draw-
back is that it sometimes becomes riddled with, and weakened
by, the burrows of a species of large boring bee, which is
very fond of using it as a nesting-place. The stems of the
nibong and bayas palms, as they are called in Malay, split
into lengths, are used for the flooring of houses and small
bridges. Large bamboos hacked longitudinally here and
there with a parang (chopping knife), cut along one side,
and spread out in sheets, form the walls or floors of native
houses. The leaves of the sago palm and of the nipa are
made into " attaps " for thatching. The bark of one tree,
which I believe is a species of Artocarpus^ is used for
making rope, and that of another for the sides of padi bins.
Bamboo has, of course, hundreds of uses other than for
walling and flooring houses; rafts are formed from large
stems, and sections are used for water vessels ; the posts of
temporary houses, bridges, fish-traps, boxes, combs, hats are
all made from this most useful plant. The various kinds of
rattan canes found in the jungle are perhaps only second to
bamboo in their usefulness. The rattan palm has graceful
feathery leaves, the petioles of which are covered with hook-
like recurved thorns. Long runners hang down from the
stem and these when split form the rattan cane of commerce.
The natives use rattans for basket-work, for cord, for bind-
ing together the posts and beams of houses, and in many
other ways.
In big jungle the atmosphere is apt to be distinctly chilly
at nights, and also in the early mornings before the mists
have risen. Sunlight does not find its way between the
The Jungle 6 1
leaves of the trees sufficiently during the daytime to make
the wearing of a hat necessary, but it is quite hot enough
for half-an-hour's hard walking to cause free perspiration.
The Malays recognise three kinds of jungle: big or virgin
jungle, which they call rimha\ secondary growth or belukar^
which has grown up on the site of old clearings ; and bush
jungle (semdk). The semak stage precedes the growth of
helukar on a clearing which has been abandoned. If the
soil is good, small secondary jungle should arise in five
years and reach its maturity in about thirty. After this
I the soft-wood trees which abound in helukar begin to die
out, giving place to that hard-wood species which is pre-
dominant in big jungle. Probably true big jungle would
not be produced for at least a hundred years, possibly
much more.
The trees in an Eastern forest are of so many species that
even a botanist who had resided for years in the country
would be hard put to it to identify at sight all that might
[ be pointed out to him. Beautiful tree ferns are common in
the higher regions of the Tempassuk district, while epiphytes
and trailing creepers are everywhere. In some places
bamboo forest is met with, and the stems of these giant
grasses are then cut, made into rafts and floated down to
the plains, where they can be sold profitably.
CHAPTER VI
TRAVELLING UP-COUNTRY S^ ELSEWHERE
BORNEO is no land for the globe-trotter; facilities
for travel are nil, and roads, outside the towns, do
not exist; it is true there are bridle-paths, but
these are often very rough, and are of course impassable
for vehicles of all kinds. It is necessary, therefore, to
travel either on foot or horseback, preferably the latter, as
the little Sulu ponies, bred in the country, are as sure-footed
as cats.
Natives, most of whom ride buifaloes, follow tracks which
have been used from time immemorial, as these heavy
animals are not allowed on the bridle-paths for reasons
sufficiently obvious to anyone who has ever seen a buifalo
track in wet weather. Owing to their peculiar blundering,
jumping gait when going over heavy ground, buffaloes will
soon reduce a decent path to a series of deep rectangular
holes, each separated from the next by a narrow razor-back
ridge of mud. It is usually best when following a path
much used by these animals not to stride from ridge to ridge,
but to push along on one or other side of the track, as
an unlucky step on an apparently firm-looking ridge will
land you up to your knees in mud and water, with a separate
hole for each leg — I know this from personal experience.
Walking along a track or bridle-path in jungle country
is not all unpleasant, as there is sufficient shade to be a
protection from the heat of the sun; but a march from,
say, Kotabelud to Pindasan over sun-scorched plains and
marsh-lands is by no means so pleasant, especially if the
sun is full on the back. Hence on a journey of this kind
it is advisable to start as early as possible, preferably at
62
Travelling Up-Country &^ Elsewhere 63
daybreak or before, as the sun will be high enough to be
unpleasant by about nine o'clock.
To those who, like myself, are not expert equestrians,
a well-trained water-buifalo is by no means a steed to be
despised, as being quite a difficult beast to fall off. An
animal with a nice even gait is quite comfortable, and
not nearly so slow as might be supposed, a trained riding
buffalo keeping up a good steady trot for a considerable
number of miles without showing signs of fatigue, even if
taken into the plains, where it is exposed to the full force
of the sun. The beast is fitted with a ring through the
nose, to which is attached a long cord. The rider holds
the loose end of this and steers the animal by pulling it in
the direction in which he wants to go.
The native saddle is a curious article with a wooden
I peak sticking up in front and a body padded with the
inner bark of some kind of tree, I believe the Terap
{Artocarpus kunstlert). The peak-board leans backwards
at an angle from the perpendicular, and from the saddle
hang down rope stirrups.
Natives often ride with one stirrup so short that their
I foot is on the animal's back, or, if they do not shorten the
I stirrup, simply put up their foot. People with long legs
should be careful when riding a buffalo in the plains.
Here the small streams have often cut down the banks
many feet below ground-level, and consequently the track
which crosses them leads down to the water between two
high banks of earth, the passage between being only just
large enough to allow a full-grown buffalo to pass. When
approaching one of these streams it is advisable to kick
the feet clear of the stirrups and put them up on the
animal's back until you are safely on the other side, or
, ten to one you will get both your legs most unpleasantly
I squeezed between the buffalo and the sides of the passage.
j Buffaloes can be also highly recommended for crossing
rivers; they are not afraid to enter water, as they are
64 Travelling Up-Country &^ Elsewhere
amphibious, and are far more sure-footed on the slippery
stones of a shallow river than a pony. Needless to say,
they are excellent swimmers. Turned loose after his day's
work, the buffalo strolls off in search of good pasture, and
when he has fed to the full, retires to a wallow^ a pool
filled with filthy mud which may be capable of holding
anything from one to forty animals. Here he will lie
for hours, protected from the bites of insects, with little
more than his eyes, ears and nose above the surrounding
sea of mud. Wallows are made by buffaloes lying down
in any small depression, which may hold a little water
after a rain-storm, and rolling about until the earth and
water are churned up into the evil-looking mud in which
they delight. Besides buffaloes and ponies, bulls and cows
are pressed into service for purposes of riding or carrying
burdens.
Coolies for Government work in Borneo are easy to
obtain, as any native failing to obey when his headman
orders him to work as a coolie is summarily fined. The
HI
rate of pay is twenty-five cents a day, about sixpence
Enghsh money, but it is customary for private individuals
to give another five cents. This rate, however, has now
been raised slightly. Occasionally natives show reluctance
to come as coolies when called, and a fine has to be in-
flicted, but this is rare. It is a good rule never to take
Bajau coolies with you if Dusuns — preferably up-country
men — are obtainable. Bajaus give constant trouble owing
to their laziness, and besides this, as is to a lesser extent
the case with lowland Dusuns, they are quite unfitted for
the work through their being unaccustomed to walking far
or carrying loads, a Bajau never stirring out on foot while
he has a beast of any kind to carry him.
Once started and the loads arranged, up-country coolies
give little or no trouble, and you have not the worry of pro-
viding food for them unless you are going into the jungle away
from all habitations, as rice and fish are procurable in any
Travelling Up-Country &^ Elsewhere 65
village you pass through. In fact from mouth to source of
the Tempassuk river you are hardly ever out of sight of
cultivation.
All Bornean coolies expect to be allowed to stop for a
short rest when they come to a stream. Here they drink,
bathe, and take a chew of sireb or smoke a nipa-ledif
cigarette. Where a stony and shallow mountain stream
crosses the path you will generally see one or two of your
men draw their parangs (working-knives) and squat down in
the middle of it to sharpen them. The most conveniently
situated stone is chosen for the purpose, and, as nearly every
man goes to the same stone, wherever a stream crosses a
regular track there will be found a small boulder which has
been worn away by constant knife-sharpenings.
In the Tempassuk it is seldom necessary for a Govern-
ment officer to go into big jungle, since nearly all the
villages are accessible without passing through it, being
surrounded by secondary growth, which has grown up on the
sites of old clearings. The virgin jungle in the district is
now confined to the hills, except beyond Pindasan, where in
one place it runs down almost to sea-level. I have had but
little experience of big jungle in Borneo, though I have seen
a good deal of it elsewhere ; what I have had, chiefly beyond
Pindasan and in the head-waters of the Tempassuk river
above Kiau, was not particularly unpleasant, as little or no
clearing had to be done to make a path. In extremely heavy
jungle it is sometimes necessary to rentls (hack a path)
for every yard of the journey, but I have never yet met with
such heavy going.
With regard to provisions, rice, fowls and eggs can
generally be procured in Dusun villages, and possibly
vegetables, cucumbers, a kind of French bean, or green
Indian corn. Another vegetable not to be despised is a kind
of white fungus which grows freely on old tree-trunks.
Fish can sometimes be obtained from up-country villagers,
I who build complicated fish-traps in the rivers. Honey too
66 Travelling Up-Country &f Elsewhere
— the produce of the Httle domesticated species of bee which
the Dusuns hive in old tree trunks, fixed against the walls of
their houses — can often be bought. Fresh coco-nuts form
a refreshing drink after a long tramp, and are usually
brought as a present when a European visits a village. Still,
there are few white men who would care to depend on local
supplies alone, and tinned provisions should always be taken.
There are, unfortunately, certain firms whose goods should
never be purchased, but for obvious reasons I am unable to
mention their names. A good choice of tinned fish, salmon,
haddock, sardines, kippers, lobsters, is obtainable, but the
question of tinned meat is much more difficult. I usually
take several tins of "army rations" with me, as they are
excellent and contain both meat and vegetables. These can
be supplemented by tinned mutton cutlets, tongue and local
fowls. All tinned meat seems to have a tendency to become
stringy, and is, I think, bad for the health if eaten
continually.
Instead of bread, it is usual to take cabin biscuits or
cream crackers, to my mind preferably the former. Many
people buy oatmeal to make , porridge, but this necessitates
either carrying a large number of tins of fresh milk — and
weight is a thing which has to be considered — or, if con-
densed milk is used, mixing it with water, which, if your boy
is lazy, may not be boiled. Tinned vegetables are put up by
various firms, both English and foreign, and nearly all the
brands of these are good.
In wet weather, or before an early morning start, a
good cup of hot cocoa is both "grateful and comforting,"
but cocoa is too heating to be drunk during the day. My
usual drink when travelling in Borneo was either tea or the
juice of a green coco-nut, but most people prefer whisky
and water or whisky and coco-nut juice. Water, unless
obtained from mountain streams — and even these are not
too safe — should always be boiled. A Primus cooking-
lamp is exceedingly useful when on a journey, as it saves
Travelling Up-Country &^ Elsewhere 67
the trouble of hunting for dry wood — which is almost im-
possible to find in wet weather — to make a fire, and burns
but little oil, one tin of kerosene lasting almost a month.
When visiting villages away from the bridle-paths, in
most of which there is no halting-hut, it is necessary to
put up for the night in a Dusun house. I used generally to
sleep in the public verandah, as this is the airiest place, and
family rooms in a "long house" are generally all occupied.
The Dusuns manifest a considerable interest in your be-
longings and yourself, which is at times apt to be a little
embarrassing, but are always willing to do whatever lies in
their means to make you comfortable ; and as compensation
for a little discomfort you obtain an insight into native life
which you would not do if stopping in a halting-bungalow.
Native houses are usually fairly clean, but nearly always
harbour bugs, which their methods of construction particu-
larly favour; however, a Dusun is not worried by such
small matters as these.
When setting up your camp-bed it is advisable to see that
it is not close to one of the posts of the house, or you may
wake up in the middle of the night with the impression
that a small earthquake is taking place. The fact is that
one of your host's buifaloes is sheltering underneath the
house — all Dusun houses are raised from the ground — and
is rubbing his back against the post close to your bed.
Other disturbing agencies at night are the pigs and the
dogs, the former especially. After experiencing a night in
a Dusun house and listening to the stealthy crunchings
and noisy munchings which go on under it, it is easy to
realise how the Dyaks are led to believe in a kind of
spirit which comes at night and eats up the remains of
cooked rice which are thrown down through a hole in the
floor.
The Dusuns are a most hospitable people and always
j produce a joint of bamboo full of "toddy" to regale the
traveller. Seated in a circle, hosts and guests pass the
I ►^
68 Travelling Up-Country &^ Elsewhere
coco-nut-shell cup merrily round, at the same time helping
themselves to boiled or broiled fish, which is placed in the
centre of the group on a banana leaf or an earthenware
plate. The fish is not necessarily eaten because the drinkers
are hungry. When the Dusun sits down to a good toddy
drink, he fully intends to become intoxicated, but this desir-
able state should be obtained very gradually. It is the
getting drunk the Dusun enjoys, not the being drunk. As
old Lengok of Bengkahak once remarked to me : " We
Hke to get drunk slowly, and so we always eat something
when we are drinking, otherwise we get drunk quickly,
have had no pleasure, and have put away very little liquor."
Dusun hospitality to travellers is well illustrated by a certain
custom which has almost the force of law. Any wayfarer
passing a Dusun garden is entitled, if he be hungry, to
gather whatever he wants to eat on the spot, but nothing
must be taken away with him, as an act of this kind is
regarded as a theft.
Government halting-huts in Borneo are built of the same
materials as native houses. They are frequently divided
into two portions, one being a coolie room, the other,
which is for the use of Europeans, consisting of an un-
furnished bedroom with a small verandah. The local head-
man keeps the hut in repair, but it is necessary to bring
your own camp furniture, food and cooking-pots, and at
least one personal servant. A "boy'' who knows a Httle
cooking is worth his weight in silver, since he is almost
impossible to find, at any rate in country districts.
On navigable rivers and on inlets of the sea such as the
Sulaman and Mengkabong it is necessary to hire a native
boat, the small dug-outs locally called gobang often being the
only craft obtainable ; but when a larger kind can be got,
the centre should be covered with a palm-leaf roof supported
on a simple framework of trimmed branches, the lower ends
of which pass into eyelets cut from the solid wood of the hull.
The steersman sits at the stern with a steering-paddle in his
Travelling Up-Country &^ Elsewhere 69
hand and the paddlers in front. Boats larger than the gobang
are usually floored with slats of nibong or bamboo.
The crew of the boat will be Bajaus or, if in an Illanun
neighbourhood, men of that nationality. Both these races
are in their element on the water, in fact, properly speaking,
the Bajaus are not land-dwellers ; but, though many of their
villages are found on dry land, they are never far from a
river. The villages on the Sulaman inlet and the Mengka-
bong are typical, being pile-dwellers over the water, but I
shall have more to say about Bajau villages in another chapter.
All the truly native boats I have ever seen in Borneo
are essentially dug-outs, though their freeboard may be
heightened by the addition of planks which are attached
to the dug-out body by means of wooden pegs, the edges
of the planks meeting those of the body and the pegs being
inserted as " secret nailing."
Travelling in a boat at night on one of the salt inlets is
very pleasant, provided that there are not many mosquitoes,
which there frequently are on these mangrove-fringed waters.
Each stroke of the paddle leaves behind it a swirl of phos-
phorescent light, and its blade sheds showers of jewelled
drops, emeralds and diamonds. The Bajau boatmen set
up a weird and haunting chant to the stroke and grind of
the paddles, and as the canoe shoots forward into the dark-
ness a native squatting in the bows, with his right hand
shading his eyes to enable him to pierce the gloom ahead, calls
out to the steersman, ^^Gebang, gebang!^^ '^Kuanon, kuanonP^
as he makes out the winding of the stream to left or right.
I used always to encourage my boatmen to sing, as the
paddling chants are to my mind singularly attractive, and
chanting keeps the men all paddling in time, and seems to
make them quite enjoy their work.
There is yet another method of travelling by water which
is chiefly used where boating would be impossible, this being
rafting. Though the Dusuns of the Tuaran and Tempassuk
— except where there are villages near the coast and the
yo Travelling Up-Country &^ Elsewhere
streams are navigable for prahus — know practically nothing of
boat work, they are often extremely expert raftsmen. Rafts
are chiefly used for going down-stream when rivers are in
flood. The fabric consists of a number of enormous bamboos
lashed together and secured with shorter bamboo cross-
pieces at front and back, while sometimes a hand-rail and
seat of the same material are added. The steersman stands
either in front or at the back, as occasion demands, keeping
the raft on its right course with the aid of a long pole. In
the deeper reaches the raft is carried along swiftly by the
current and requires but little attention beyond an occasional
guiding stroke with the pole ; but every here and there a
rapid formed by a bed of big round stones is met with, and
the raft bumps and bangs noisily over these, the occupants
of the small seat getting wet with spray up to the waist.
It is below these rapids that the raftsman needs to show his
skill, for there is often a deep pool with the current sweep-
ing directly towards a large rock jutting out from the bank.
The raft requires very careful guiding here, and exact
judgment and hard work are necessary if it is not to be
smashed to pieces.
Natives generally have a cheerful way of telling you of
approaching difficulties : for instance, your raftsman will say :
" We are coming to a very bad place in a little while, Tuan.
I have never fallen off a raft yet, but who knows what my
luck will be this time ! " In the same sort of way when
crossing an estuary in a tiny and very unstable little cockle-
shell of a dug-out, which has its gunwale level with the
water, and in which, unless used to this sort of boat, it is
necessary to sit in a kind of cataleptic condition, your solitary
paddler will remark : " Lots of crocodiles here, Tuan ! "
The chief drawbacks to travelling in Borneo are bad
paths, flooded rivers, torrential rains and a hot sun, but in
spite of these I look back on my experiences with nothing
but pleasure.
CHAPTER VII
THE LIFE OF AN OUT-STATION OFFICER
EVEN in Borneo there are out-stations and out-stations ;
some of them, if there be estates in the neighbour-
hood, can produce quite a Httle colony of European
men, while there may even be one or two ladies. In the
outposts of civilisation which have advanced to this extent,
tennis courts and other luxuries are to be found ; and, since
the presence of Europeans in a place signifies that there " is
something doing " either in the way of planting or mining,
the Asiatic population will be much more heterogeneous than
that in the smaller stations, which can boast of only a single
European, generally a Government officer. As I am chiefly
acquainted with the second type of post, I will confine myself
to trying to give some idea of the life there.
The vast majority or the whole of the people who
inhabit the surrounding country will be Bornean natives;
if near the coast, partly Mohammedans, partly pagans — the
Mohammedans occupying the littoral and lower river reaches ;
if in the interior, wholly pagans.
The European officer's house, especially if the post is
an old one, will stand on a commanding eminence, such
a position having been chosen owing to the likelihood of
attacks by the natives, as well as for reasons of health.
Possibly on the same level as the European's house, but at
some little distance from it, will be the police barracks, while
at the foot of the hill are the office, the houses of the clerk
and the telegraph operator, and the lock-up. Not far away
are sure to be found a row of palm-leaf thatched and walled
Chinese shops.
The European official has of necessity to learn to be
71
72 The Life of an Out-Station Officer
something of a jack-of-all-trades; he is his own Police
Officer, Chief of PubHc Works Department, Land Revenue
Officer, Magistrate, Accountant, Treasurer, Doctor, Coroner
and possibly Customs Officer. He must, if Government
allows him to reside in the district for any length of time,
get to know all the chiefs and village headmen; while, if
he has lived in the country for several years, in addition
to Malay — the lingua franca — he will probably have a fairly
good working knowledge of one or more of the native
languages. His duties comprise the collection of revenue
from the poll-tax, land-rent on native holdings (if the district
has been demarcated), boat and fishing hcences, and from
other less productive forms of taxation ; supervision of the
repair and construction of bridle-paths ; court work, which
includes the hearing of both civil and criminal cases ; the
monthly making up of the accounts both of revenue and
expenditure, besides the sending in of various quarterly and
monthly returns. In addition he is expected to visit the
villages in his district as frequently as may be, in order to
hear complaints, to become acquainted with his people, and
to see that all the men are paying poll-tax.
Each district has a certain number of native chiefs, who
receive anything from fifty dollars or more down to five
dollars for placing their services at the Government's dis-
posal. Among the Mohammedans these chiefs are some-
times men of rank who have been given an official position
owing to their birth and influence, sometimes men who have
risen owing to their own ability. The Government chiefs
among the pagans are usually those headmen of villages who
show themselves most capable. The Government chiefs are
supposed to attend the court on Thursdays with regularity,
to assist the European officer to administer justice and to
aid him with their knowledge of native affiairs and customs.
Minor cases, especially those which concern native custom
only, are often dealt with by the chiefs alone.
Every native village, whether Mohammedan or pagan, has
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GuMPUs, THE Headman of Tambatuan, with Spear and Pida.
He is wearing his headman's badge, received from Government, of which he is very proud.
The pida, a broad-bladed knife, or short sword, is in its origin a Sulu weapon.
The Life of an Out-Station Officer 73
its headman, who, although he receives no direct pay, is
recognised by Government. It is his duty to see that
good order is kept in his village, that any crimes com-
mitted are reported to the police, to settle small disputes,
and to collect the annual poll-tax from his people. In
consideration of the latter service he receives ten per cent,
commission on the total of his collection. A headman
who misbehaves himself is removed by the District Officer,
some more trustworthy native being appointed to fill the
position.
Out-station life in a district with few other European
residents, or none, is, however keen be the Government
officer's interest in the people over whom he has charge,
naturally rather depressing owing to the isolation, and this
depression may sometimes become almost intolerable should
fever or other illness attack him. A man accustomed to mix
much in society, a lover of card-parties, dancing and other
such forms of amusement, will probably suffisr from his
loneliness much more than one who is sufficiently self-centred
to be able to dispense with the companionship of his fellows.
The evenings spent alone after the early tropical night has
fallen are the times when he is likely to feel his isolation
most; his native friends — if he cultivates any — have gone
home to their villages ; he has read each volume of the last
batch of books from cover to cover; and, provided he
cannot apply himself to work of some kind, he has nothing
to do but sit and think — not a particularly healthy occupa-
tion in Borneo — or betake himself to bed, by far the best
thing he can do.
On Saturday afternoons or Sundays he may have a chance
of enjoying a little sport; a deer-drive can often be or-
ganised without much trouble, or taking his gun he may
stroll out in quest of green pigeon, and, if it be the season,
snipe. Pigs, and the male of the Bornean wild porker has
very fine tusks, can sometimes be shot, either by beating
them out of places which they are known to frequent, or by
74 The Life of an Out-Station Officer
waiting for them in the evening near their usual track till
they come out of a patch of jungle on their way to raid
native gardens; while, if the district harbour them, there
may be an occasional opportunity of getting a shot at wild
cattle (Timbardau) or rhinoceros.
Near the coasts crocodiles abound in the river estuaries
and their lower reaches; but, though crocodile shooting is
useful, it is not such good sport as shooting deer or pigs,
and besides this not a very large proportion of the animals
accounted for are actually secured, since, unless the brutes
are lying well away from the river on some mud-flat, they
usually manage to fall back into the water when hit, the
carcasses being probably found farther down-stream some
days afterwards.
To my mind the most enjoyable part of district work is
the travelling, though this may be attended with considerable
discomfort, heavy rain-storms, flooded rivers and shockingly
bad tracks, or none at all, being among their number ; but
there is freedom from all ofl&cial routine — though this is not
very strict in Borneo — change of scene, intercourse with the
natives, for whom I cherish a great affection, and a feeling
of having almost cast off the shackles of a paid servant, tied
to a country in which it is not good for a white man to spend
his whole life. Many times have I thought, when some
glorious panorama of upland country unrolled itself before
me: "How 1 should enjoy all this were I only a free man —
free to go when and where I like, free to stop as long as
pleases me ! " Some people do not seem to be galled by the
yoke of officialdom ; unfortunately for myself I am not one
of these.
However, in spite of discomforts — and they are many —
to anyone who likes the peoples and customs of the Malay
Archipelago and the neighbouring countries the call is irre-
sistible. To me it would be unbearable to think that I
should be obliged to live for the rest of my life in England
without chance or hope of ever returning to those regions
The Life of an Out-Station Officer 75
which attract me so greatly, and to the peoples for whom I
have so great a regard.
Wherein, with the exception of certain favoured districts,
lies the charm of this part of the East it would, I think, be
difficult to say; but it is there, and when the old hand re-
turning from Europe encounters again those indefinable
Eastern smells at Colombo, he feels that he is nearing home.
It is much more easy to give reasons for liking the un-
civilised tribes and peoples of the Malayan region, since
they possess those good qualities so often found among
primitive people who have not yet been corrupted by the
all-blighting influence of the white man. True, they have
their faults, but perhaps they are not less likeable on that
account.
One of the worst troubles of an officer is the probability
of being shifted from station to station, these moves being,
when I was in Borneo, very frequent, especially in the case
of junior members of the British North Borneo Service. I
do not know what policy dictated these constant changes,
possibly it may have been due to shortage in the staff", or to
a desire that newly joined recruits should gain experience of
different kinds of work ; but, whatever was the cause, appoint-
ments often made for a comparatively short time can scarcely
have fulfilled the latter purpose. One man I knew had, if
I remember rightly, been in six different places in eighteen
months.
Moreover, this constant shifting of oflBcers is much disliked
by the natives, and tends to a certain extent to unsettle
them. Native headmen have said to me on several occasions :
"When we are just beginning to know an officer, and he
to know us, he is shifted." I gathered, furthermore, that
they would sooner have a European whom they disliked set
over them for a considerable time than the constant proces-
sion which at that time seemed to be customary, since they
would at least have known the man with whom they had
to deal.
76 The Life of an Out-Station Officer
Another thing which probably makes the more unsophis-
ticated natives disUke changes of officers in charge of dis-
tricts is the fact that, according to their ideas, the advent of
a new influence gives rise to some disturbance of the normal
conditions of the country, the disturbance being often sup-
posed to be inimical to its inhabitants. Thus any event out
of the ordinary occurring soon after the arrival of a new
officer is put down to the influences which he brings with
him. The results of a new officer's arrival may of course be
beneficial, such as plenty of rain when it is required before
ploughing the wet-padi fields, a dry spell at the time when
the felled jungle is being burnt on the hill-clearings, or a
bumper padi crop; but since most human beings, and
especially agriculturists, are more prone to grumble than
rejoice, I suspect that if any fault can be found with the
condition of affairs at the time, the things which are unsatis-
factory are put down as being due to the fresh arrival rather
than those which are entirely satisfactory.
The unpleasant happenings which may be ascribed to the
arrival of a new European are a drought just before ploughing
time, floods of rain at the season for burning the jungle in
hill-padi cultivation, plagues of rats, and also, I believe,
epidemics among buffaloes or human beings.
These favourable or unfavourable events are, I think, in
no way connected with the natives' estimation of an officer's
character, unpleasant events frequently following the ar-
rival of an officer whom the natives get to like very much.
Whether these consequences are considered to be the result
of the European's personal influence on the tide of affairs,
or whether they are due to outside influences, evil or good,
which he may bring with him, I am not certain ; but I rather
incline to the former opinion, for, since the European is the
head of the whole district, his personal spiritual influence
would probably be considered strong enough to affect the
normal course of affairs.
At the same time it must be remembered that, according
The Life of an Out-Station Officer 77
to the ideas of the up-country people, a native returning to
his village after a residence elsewhere may bring home a
whole crowd of evil spirits or influences with him; hence
the custom of performing a religious ceremony over the re-
turned wanderer with a view to their dissipation. Natives
think, I suppose, that all diseases are of supernatural origin,
certainly small-pox is ; therefore a man coming back to his
village from a district infected with the disease, developing
it himself and so starting an epidemic, would afford to the
villagers' minds an extremely forceful proof of the truth of
this theory.
The question of the arrival of good and benevolent men
having an evil influence on the aflFairs of others is extremely
interesting, cases somewhat analogous being not unheard of
in Europe. For example. Pope Leo XIII. was credited with
the possession of the Evil Eye ; the effects of his glance were
therefore dreaded by the superstitious peasants of Italy, and
were warded oflF by surreptitiously making the well-known
sign for averting the maleficent influence of the "jettatore."
One trouble which frequently besets Europeans living in
places far from the beaten track is the diflficulty of obtaining
efficient servants. In British Malayasia it is customary for
a European to employ at least three, if not four : these are
a cook, sometimes a Tamil, but more frequently a Hylam
Chinese (native of Hainan) ; a " boy," either Chinese, Tamil
or native ; a tukang ayer^ who draws water and does all the
rougher work of the house, again a Chinese, Tamil, or
native, but very rarely a Mohammedan; and a kebun or
gardener. In out-stations in Borneo the European officer's
garden is often kept in order by prisoners working in charge
of a guard, while the tukang ayer may be also a prisoner who
has conducted himself well.
Well-trained " boys " and cooks are difficult to get outside
the towns, Chinese servants especially being unwilling to
go to out-stations, even if tempted by big wages. In the
Federated Malay States the only Chinese servants are Hylams,
78 The Life of an Out-Station Officer
a people not recognised as being true Chinese by the inhabit-
ants of the mainland. The Hylams have, I suppose, gained
their position through natural aptitude for this sort of work,
but they have a very strong secret trade union or " kongsi."
In these states, at any rate, it would be almost impossible to
make use of Chinese servants from any of the mainland pro-
vinces, as they would be driven out by threats and boy-
cotting or, if these failed, by even more active measures.
Many Europeans have found it absolutely impossible to obtain
any Chinese servants at all, if a man on leaving, or being
discharged, has harboured a grievance and lodged a complaint
with his " kongsi."
In Borneo, not being stationed in a town, I had to do the
best I could with regard to retainers. I picked up a China-
man, who turned out to be a most excellent little fellow, as
cook ; there being no Hylam " kongsi " in such out-of-the-
way places, he did not belong to that division of the Chinese,
but was a Keh. My first " boy," a very raw and exceed-
ingly objectionable Tuaran Dusun, I got almost immediately
on coming to the country. As I think I have remarked else-
where, a boy who is already trained and has a knowledge of
camp cookery is a treasure without price ; so, having suffered
internally, and otherwise, from the culinary efforts of my
Dusun servitor, I decided after some months' trial always in
future to take my cook with me when travelling.
Some bachelors of economical tendencies, where such ser-
vants can be obtained, dispense with a cook proper and keep
a cook-boy instead, but the experiment — I have tried it my-
self— is not, I believe, generally very successful.
Though a good Chinese servant has some excellent
qualities not often found among the natives of the Malayan
region — notably gratitude — I cannot say that I like the
Chinese as a whole, and for some reason, difficult to state,
they fill me with feelings of repulsion.
THE DUSUNS
CHAPTER VIII
RACES OF THE TUARAN &- TEMPASSUK DISTRICTS
THE DUSUNS
AS I have previously remarked, Orang Dusun means
"people of the orchards," and is a term used by
the Brunei Malays to describe a large section of
the Indonesian inhabitants of British North Borneo.
The Dusun social unit is the village community, governed
by a headman assisted, perhaps, by some of the older men.
Roughly speaking, the Dusun groups are more or less
similar in habits, customs, beliefs and language, though
there are minor differences — and others somewhat more
important — from district to district, or even from village to
village.
The Dusuns apply different names to themselves in
different parts of the country ; for instance, I have it on the
authority of Father Duxneuney that the Putatan people call
themselves Kadasan, while I found that the natives of the
Tempassuk dub themselves Tindal.
With regard to the distribution of the Dusuns in British
North Borneo, as I have not travelled extensively, and the
evidence available is scanty, I cannot speak dogmatically,
but I believe that I shall hardly be incorrect if I say that
the communities known under this style inhabit the whole
of the northern part of the interior of British North Borneo,
as far south as the Murut country. On the northern and
western coasts (on the west coast they reach the Klias
Peninsula) they are to be found living fairly close to the
sea, though generally with an intervening fringe of Moham-
medans— in most cases Bajaus. On the east coast they
inhabit the upper river reaches, while in the interior they
79
8o Races of Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts
extend at any rate to Tambunan, Kaningau being in Murut
territory.
Judging from the few measurements that I have taken, they
appear to be long-headed Indonesians. The dialects spoken
by the Dusuns belong to the Malayo-Polynesian family
of languages, and their grammar is far more complicated
than that of the Malay language itself.
The Dusun man is generally a rather lithe and muscular
individual of low stature. He cannot as a rule be called in
the least good-looking, his face being too broad, and the
angles of the lower jaw frequently showing extraordinarily
heavy development. His nose is concave towards the root
and has widely spread nostrils, while the forehead is low,
and often bulging. The eyes are generally straight and
without the Mongolian fold over their inner corners (a fold
of skin over the corner of the eye next the nose, such as is
found in the Chinese and other Mongolian races), though
in some cases both slanting eyes and the epicanthus can be
found. The body is well proportioned, but many growing
youths have a very weedy appearance, probably due to
their hard life and poor diet.
On the other hand, it is not uncommon to meet Dusuns
who are handsome, even when judged by European
standards ; such a man was my friend Sirinan, one of the
headmen of Kampong Piasau, who was the narrator of many
of the folk-tales that I collected in the Tempassuk.
On my leaving Borneo he followed me down to Jesselton
to say farewell, and several Europeans drew my attention to
him as he stood on the steamer among a crowd of other
natives, remarking : " What a fine fellow that is." And so
he was, not only in appearance, but in character. He was
a skilled craftsman, a quick learner, and a hard worker, who
could always be trusted. He had, I think, the most per-
fectly respectful and gentleman-like manner I have ever
observed ; yet in his respectfulness there was no touch of
servility or cringing, and if one word was said to him in an
Races of Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts 8 1
insulting or slighting manner his eyes would flash, his whole
body stiffen, while it was evident that very little more provo-
cation would be required to make him draw his parang.
This is a large chopping-knife, which is used either for work
or as a weapon, chiefly for the former purpose.
In all our dealings he was "as honest as the day," but,
I think, just possibly, he may have known a little of the
sport of buffalo-thieving, which according to Tempassuk
district ethics is scarcely a crime, but a kind of game of
" I catch your buffalo and you catch me — if you can."
To return, however, to the Dusun in general. His skin
colour, especially in the hill districts, is often exceedingly
fair for a native of the tropics, being a light yellowish with
just a touch of brown in it. This colour was sometimes
quite startling, when, on rounding a bend in an up-country
bridle-path, I came upon a gang of nearly naked coolies
repairing the track, as their light skins were thrown into
strong relief by the dark green tints of the surrounding
jungle.
The Dusun of the plains is usually a good many shades
darker, since he is continually exposed to the direct rays of
the sun, which do not affect the up-country man to the same
extent, partly owing to the shade of the jungle, and partly
to the much smaller amount of sunshine in the rainy upland
regions. Probably the low-country man has a greater
mixture of blood in his veins than the hill-man, and this may
also to some extent account for his darker colour. In the
coastal district I think it would not be easy to pick out a
man and say, " This is a typical Dusun," but the difficulty
would not exist up-country. This fact again, apart from
the probabilities of the case, gives some countenance
to the idea that the Dusuns of the plains are a mixed
people.
On the whole, the percentage of handsome natives is
probably higher in the lowlands than in the highlands.
Dusun women, when young, are often quite pretty, what
82 Races of Tuaran &f Tempassuk Districts
they lack in regularity of features being balanced by a
cheerful and intelligent expression. Their hands and feet
are nearly always small and neat, and their bodies well
developed. Field labour, however, the carrying of heavy
burdens and child-bearing unfortunately soon age them,
and a woman is middle-aged at twenty-five and old at thirty.
In some of the up-country girls the skin colour is so light
that they have quite rosy cheeks.
The Dusun does not seem to attain to a great age; I
certainly sometimes saw old men with grizzled hair and
crippled limbs left behind in the houses to look after the
children when the other members of the family had gone to
work in the padi-fields, but I imagine that Englishmen of the
same age would be still enjoying a day's shooting or hunting,
or a round of golf.
Let us pass, however, from the Dusun's appearance to his
character. He is, I think, a good family man. Sons are, of
course, more valued than daughters, but the latter are always
a good investment, as will be seen in the chapter dealing
with courtship and marriage. Extravagance is certainly not
a failing of the Dusun, as it is of the Bajau or Illanun; he
is as a rule very frugal, and at intervals, if not always, a
hard worker — in up-country districts of necessity, since hard
labour must be performed to clear the jungle and prepare
the ground for padi-planting.
His worst vice is drinking ; but this is chiefly indulged in
at those times of the year when work is slack — that is, after
harvest, and when the jungle has been felled and burnt
ready for planting, so that the business of sowing can be
safely entrusted to the women. Native-brewed drink seems,
ho'^ever, to have but little, if any, after effects, though one
kind made from rice contains a high percentage of alcohol.
In villages situated at some distance from a river, as many
of them are — probably owing to hill sites being chosen in old
times in order to guard against surprise attacks — the popula-
tion often leaves something to be desired in the matter of
Races of Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts 83
personal cleanliness; and on a few occasions I have seen
natives from very out-of-the-way villages who were not
merely grimed but caked with dirt.
The Dusun is at first a little apt to be suspicious of a
European, especially if he knows that he is a Government
" Tuan," the reason for this being that his conscience, which
is usually in a healthy dormant condition, is disturbed by the
visit and the uncertainty as to whether one or more of his
little peccadilloes may not have come to light. When once
his confidence is gained, however, he rapidly expands, and in
a short time will probably be quite friendly. He will, if you
let him, kill fowls for you and bring you presents of vege-
tables, probably both belonging to somebody else, if he be
the headman of the village. In associating with him you
can treat him almost as an equal, and be assured that he will
not take advantage of it, an impossibility with any of the
races of India, with perhaps the exception of the Gurkhas.
But though, if you show yourself sympathetic, you can
easily gain some insight into his ways of thought, religious
beliefs and superstitions, it is more difficult to get him to tell
you truthfully all the affairs of his village. For instance,
the true details in a buffalo case, how so-and-so's buffalo,
which was attached by a rope to a post of his master's house,
managed to run away during the night and tie itself care-
fully to a tree a couple of miles away in the jungle. Such
things will remain mysteries for ever as far as voluntary
information from him is concerned, probably for the following
reasons: — firstly, he may be in the "job" himself; secondly,
if he is not, he has no special reason for giving away his
friends, unless he has some grudge against them; thirdly,
there comes into play that peculiar dislike to meddling in
another's affairs which is so common all over the East.
Again, a man will see a murder taking place and say or
do nothing, for why should he interfere in the ways of
Providence ? If the victim is fated to be murdered, he will
be murdered. As to reporting the crime at the nearest
84 Races of Tuaran ^ Tempassuk Districts
police station — well, it is the business of the police to find
out these things for themselves ; and, if he did, who knows
into what trouble he might get through his being mixed up
in the aifair? Should a serious crime, such as a murder,
have been committed, it is often a matter of the greatest
difficulty to obtain evidence, even if the police are almost
sure that certain individuals have knowledge of the aifair;
and, if the headman or any other influential person has any
reason for screening the offenders, he will have the whole
affair hushed up with the greatest care, while it is no un-
common thing for all the people who may be called upon by
the police to bear witness to be specially drilled in their
evidence beforehand.
Buffalo-stealing expeditions are frequently planned a long
time in advance, and in case the thieves should be caught
it is arranged what stories are to be told. Luckily for the
prosecution, however, when a gang of thieves has been
caught, one or other of the prisoners, finding himself in a
tight place, usually gives away all the others, meanwhile
taking care to try and exculpate himself. Immediately this
is known the other participants follow suit, and it is thus
fairly easy to piece together the whole story.
This habit of " giving away " companions in crime in
order to save his own skin is perhaps one of the worst
traits in the Dusun's character. On the other hand, one
of the pleasantest things to observe in Dusun society is
the method of treating those who have committed some
offence and have subsequently returned from a long spell
of imprisonment in Jesselton or Sandakan; for, unless the
ex-prisoner is a notoriously bad character, no stigma seems
to attach to him — he has paid for what he did, and there
is an end of the matter. In out-of-the-way villages, in-
deed, where not many of the inhabitants can speak Malay,
the man who has been a " guest of the Government "
is, in fact, rather inclined to give himself airs as a man of
the world who has received a liberal education, and it is
Races of Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts 8 5
generally he who welcomes the "Tuan" on his arrival in
the village, his attentions often being rather overwhelming.
Here I would like to add a word with regard to the
confinement of long-sentence prisoners in town gaols.
Though I believe the prisons of Jesselton and Sandakan
are everything that can be desired, yet from what I have
heard the death-rate among up-country natives under
sentence is far in excess of what it should be. This, be
it understood is in no way the fault of the officers in
charge of these institutions, but is due to the peculiar
psychological characteristics of the prisoners. It has been
described to me by a Government ofi^icer how strongly-
built natives pine and die under these conditions, apparently
becoming home-sick and heart-broken. On the other
hand, it is a rare thing to have a death in an out-station
lock-up, unless through epidemic disease.
I cannot help thinking that if local lock-ups could be
enlarged so as to hold long-sentence prisoners as well as
those confined for minor offences, this high death-rate
might be materially reduced, for the prisoners would then
be working in a country they knew, and would probably
not become affected by home-sickness to the same extent ;
while the station grounds and buildings would be better
kept, owing to the larger number of prisoners working on
them.
But to return again to the Dusun. With the capacity
for forming deep and complicated plots, there is often a
large vein of childishness in his character, and his excuses
for faults that he has committed are often exceedingly
ingenuous.
A case in point was as follows. The prisoners at
Kotabelud used to be taken down to the river on Sunday
to wash their clothes and bathe, as no work was done on
that day, a policeman armed with a loaded carbine being
in charge of the gang.
One Sunday a Dusun prisoner, noticing that the police-
I
86 Races of Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts
guard was asleep, dropped quietly ofF the raft on which
the other prisoners were washing and let the current carry
him to a small brushwood-covered island some hundred
yards down-stream, where he landed and hid himself.
Having finished his snooze, the policeman collected his
prisoners and marched them back to gaol without noticing
that he was a man short. When the relief guard turned
up, according to orders, he counted the prisoners, and, not
finding the correct number, asked for an explanation, which,
of course, policeman No. i was unable to give. Mean-
while the missing man lay safely concealed on the island
until he saw the other prisoners return to the lock-up, and
then, as his disappearance seemed to be still unnoticed,
slipped quietly into the river again, swam to the opposite
bank and made his escape.
When the matter was reported to the European officer
in charge of the post the sleepy policeman was, of course,
suitably dealt with. The next thing was to find the prisoner,
so police were sent up to his village to make inquiries, as
an escaped prisoner nearly always makes straight for home.
Sure enough he was found there, and was arrested and
brought back. On being charged with running away, he
replied that he had not tried to make his escape, but
while bathing in the river he had suddenly remembered
that he had not paid poll-tax to the Government for that
year, and so had returned to his village in order to get the
money.
Another story will well illustrate the Dusun's wiliness,
which was, however, unsuccessful in this case. In the old
days, when the Dusuns' crops were getting damaged by pig
or deer, it was the custom to set spring spear-traps for these
animals, the traps being operated by means of a bent sap-
ling and a trigger-cord, the latter being stretched across the
track used by the marauders. Certain marks were placed
on neighbouring trees to warn passers-by of the presence of
these traps, but, in spite of this, cases of injury or death
Races of Tuaran &P Tempassuk Districts 87
occurred so frequently that the setting of spear-traps was
forbidden.
Nevertheless the traps are still used "on the sly," and
the following events happened as the result of the setting
of one. A's padi was being damaged by pigs so he set a
spring-trap for them. B, passing along near A's clearing,
did not notice the trap-sign and ran into the trigger-cord,
firing off the trap and receiving the spear right through the
calf of one leg. B was consequently laid up in his house
for some time.
A, hearing that B had been wounded and was going to
report the matter as soon as he could move, thought out a
plan for saving himself and incidentally " getting one back "
on B for threatening him with trouble. He therefore made
two superficial wounds, one on each side of the calf of his
leg, limped down to Kotabelud and reported that he was
walking along near B's clearing when he was struck in the
leg by the spear of a spring-trap. Inquiries being set on
foot and B*s presence requested to explain the matter, it was
found that he was lying ill, quite unable to walk, and suffer-
ing from a serious wound. Result: A retires to gaol to
repent of his sins.
A considerable amount of insight into the Dusun's char-
acter can be gained from listening to his folk-tales, which are
often not without a certain touch of dry humour in them :
they show him in his daily round of labour, and they make
the auditor understand the things which largely occupy his
mind : the felling and burning of the jungle for padi-planting,
the prospects of the crop, the Spirits which have to be
propitiated in order that they may not molest him, the warn-
ings which he believes come to him in dreams, and the
omen-animals to whom he pays heed. The subject of
Dusun legendry is, however, dealt with at some length in
Chapter XVIII.
CHAPTER IX
DRESS AND ADORNMENT
THE costume of a Dusun man is usually designed
with two objects in view, utility and comfort. In
hot climates clothes, if worn, should be loose to
the body, a fact which all Easterns have long ago realised ;
but this is a lesson which the stiiF-necked and superior Briton,
with his tightly fitting suits of khaki or drill, has been slow
to learn.
The dress of the up-country Dusun male is beautiful in
its simplicity, consisting as it does of a simple T bandage
loin-cloth, generally of European material, so disposed as to
leave a loose end hanging down at both front and back, in
addition to a hat or head-cloth to protect his head against
the rays of the sun. This " costume " is both comfortable
and cheap.
Slung over his left hip, by means of a string round the
waist, he carries the inevitable />^r^;z^ (working-knife), which
is fastened by a loop and toggle, the latter being often made
from a Chinese " cash " or a Sarawak one-cent piece, stamped
with a hole in the centre.
The more civilised Dusuns of the coast have adopted coats
and trousers, those of Tuaran wearing a rather loose coat of
the dark blue cloth sold in the Chinese shops, and very
long baggy trousers of the same material, gathered in tightly
around the ankle. In addition, head-cloths of turkey-red
are much in favour. In the Tempassuk, among the Dusuns
of the plains and the more advanced up-country natives,
the costume is rather different, a fairly tightly fitting coat
of dark blue or black cloth, and loose trousers of the
same material, the jacket being often ornamented with
Dress &^ Adornment 89
two rows of buttons on each side and with embroidered
facings.
The head-cloths which are most commonly used in the
Tempassuk are the products of Bajau and Illanun women's
looms; they are bartered with the Dusuns, as the Dusuns
supply these two peoples with sun-hats (seroung) which
are not made by them. Sun-hats may be either conical or
rounded, and the materials of which they are made are
strips of bamboo or rattan cane. Frequently they are
decorated with quite elaborate patterns, which are worked
in with dyed strips of the same materials as the frame-
work. Most varieties are bounded at the edge by either
a circular strip of wood or a length of whole rattan cane ;
but I deal with hats at greater length in Chapter XVI.,
as the making of them is quite an important Dusun
industry.
Dusun men wear a large handkerchief round the waist,
and in this is generally carried the brass sireb-hoxy without
which no native leaves his house. Occasionally I have seen
sireh-hoxes in the shape of a crescent; these rest on the
left hip and are tied to the waist by means of two strings
which are attached to brass loops at the points of the horns.
iS/r^/'-baskets of plaited rattan, which have a strap to go
across the chest, and are slung under the left arm, are also
common.
Dusun men do not usually decorate themselves with orna-
ments to any extent, but pretty bracelets and armlets of
dyed and plaited rattan, coloured either red and black or
yellow and black, are not uncommon in up-country villages,
while strings of beads, or beads woven into a plaited band
of fern-fibre, are worn diagonally across the chest. Young
dandies at Tuaran sometimes carry a small cone-shaped
object of buffalo-horn or wood, with a ring at the top, tied
to one end of the waist-scarf, or hung on a Chinese or
European key-chain. It is hollow below and contains wax
for dressing the moustache.
go Dress &P Adornment
In hill villages such as Kiau, where the weather is apt to
be both chilly and rainy, the natives make sleeveless coats
of brown bark-cloth, the material being, I believe, obtained
from the Terap-tree (^Arto carpus kunstleri). The Dusun
name for this bark-cloth is dampon^ and no doubt, before
European cloth became so easy to obtain, it was used for
making loin-cloths as well. Dampon coats are often skilfully
decorated with lacings of native cord.
In the Tempassuk it is now the general fashion to cut
the hair short, but formerly long hair was very generally
worn by the young bloods — even now men with long hair
are still to be met with, and in one or two villages it is
almost customary. At Tuaran many Dusun youths wear
the hair long, as in love-making it is usual for the swain to
rest his head in the lap of his loved one, while she searches
vigorously for what a German once called " the little things
which go about." Sometimes up-country Tempassuk men
shave the head entirely or leave a fringe three or four inches
broad from the front reaching down to the ears. Little girls
at Tambatuan wear a thick tail of hair from the centre or
back, and have the rest of the head shaved : boys may either
have the hair cut short or wear a small tail.
Tooth-filing is general, and Tuaran Dusuns have told me
that they would be ashamed to have long teeth, probably
because they think it like an animal. One youth I knew
had the six front teeth in the upper jaw filed down to the
level of the gums, while the teeth in the lower jaw had also
been rubbed down to a much less extent; but this was
an extreme case. Many natives blacken their teeth with a
compound which is, I believe, made from young pinang fruits
and copper sulphate; but the custom is rather dying out.
The stems of some kind of plant are also chewed to blacken
the teeth. In the Federated Malay States wood-tar made
from burnt coco-nut shells was formerly used for this purpose,
and very likely the Dusuns may use it too. I have never
seen teeth inlaid with brass or other substances, though this
Dress &^ Adornment 91
method of decorating the person is common among the pagan
tribes of Sarawak.
To turn now to the subject of women's dress. The chief
garment of the up-country women is a short skirt reaching
to a Httle below the knees. This is of native-woven cloth
dyed dark blue with a kind of native indigo. Cloth does not
seem to have been manufactured at Tuaran, at any rate within
recent years. I All Dusun women wear girdles of split and
coiled rattan ; at Tuaran these are the natural colour of the
cane^jwhile in the Tempassuk they are dyed red or black/
Numbers of small brass rings are often threaded on the
girdle, which consists of a single length of cane, coiled many
times round the waist. Several girdles may be worn at the
same time.
In the up-country villages of the Tempassuk young women
wrap a length of European or Chinese blue cloth about eight
inches broad around the breasts, but this is discarded on the
birth of the first child. The women-folk of the low-country
Dusuns have a short jacket of black or blue cloth, the
material for which is bought at the Chinese shops, and a
dark blue skirt of the same kind of cloth as their up-country
sisters. Jackets are also sometimes worn by up-country
Dusun women. When a covering for the head is used, it is
either a hat similar to those worn by the men — there are
special women's hats made at Saiap and Koung, and one or
two other villages, but their use is local — or a cowl-like
hood of native-woven cloth similar to that which is used for
the skirt. Occasionally the hoods, especially those used for
ceremonial purposes, are ornamented with a broad band of
beadwork along the edge at the back, the old shell ( ? ) beads
called bongkas being very much in favour for this purpose.
Apart from the cane girdles and other decorative objects
already mentioned, the Dusun woman does not adorn herself
to any great extent; young unmarried women wear large
flat-topped brass ear-studs which considerably distend the
lobe of the ear, and the same kind of articles are sometimes
g2 Dress &^ Adornment
made of silver. Bracelets and armlets of coiled brass wire
are fairly common, and occasionally a woman will wear a
finger-ring made of silver, or from a piece of a sea-shell.
The hair is dressed into a compact " bun " at the back of
the head, but a "fringe" is often left in front and cut
straight across the forehead. Up-country the "bun" is
ornamented with a bone pin, which is usually slightly en-
graved. From the head of the pin there depends a string of
small European beads about six inches long. Combs are of
wood, but are not worn in the hair as ornaments. Among
the young women of Tambatuan and some other Tempassuk
villages the eyebrows are shaved to thin almost straight
lines.
Large discoidal brass collars and others of thick brass wire
can sometimes be found stored away in the more remote
villages, but these are now to all intents obsolete. Heavy
brass anklets are in favour among the belles of Tuaran and
Tenghilan and must considerably impede their movements.
Embroidery in coloured threads is employed to a small extent
to decorate the seams of Dusun women's skirts, and
sometimes also their breast-cloths.
CHAPTER X
HOUSES DOMESTIC AFFAIRS GOVERNMENT
ADUSUN village invariably stands in a grove of
coco-nut palms^ the houses being scattered about,
apparently without any attempt at arrangement.
As is the case with all Bornean dwellings, they are raised
from the ground, though sometimes only slightly so; and
the space between the house and the earth is the favourite
hunting-ground of the wild-looking, gaunt and razor-backed
Dusun pigs, which come to feed on the slops, refuse from
cooking, and stale rice thrown down through a hole in the
floor.
In wet weather Dusun villages, especially if they are
situated on a hill, are most unpleasant to approach, since,
before reaching the houses, it is necessary to wade through
an expanse of evil-smelling mud, which consists partly of
refuse washed away from below the houses, and partly of
the ordure of domestic animals. Lying about in this sea
of filth are pigs of all sizes, evidently thoroughly enjoying
the opportunity of a good wallow. Coco-nut shells, husks
and leaves are littered over the quagmire and add to the
general air of untidiness.
When once the worst of the mud zone is passed, the
next thing is to climb up into the house to which you are
making your way. This is not quite so easy 'as might be
thought, since the Dusun's idea of a ladder is often merely
a tree-trunk with a few notches cut in it, though some
houses have quite good steps. In many houses, especially
in the lowlands, there is an open platform in front of the
door. Here the children play, clothes are dried and various
kinds of domestic business performed. These platforms
93
94 Houses, Domestic Affairs, Government
are fairly common in the lowland villages of the Tempassuk,
but not up-country.
I"^*^ Dusun houses are of many types. First there is the
commuhal dwelling, which is inhabited by several families^;
this consists of a wide public verandah, the bacheloFs'
sleeping-place, in which there is sometimes a raised platform
at one end or along one side. Doors open off the verandah
into the room, or rooms, of each family. Very often the
first room leads into a second, which, besides being used as
a sleeping-place, contains the family valuables. Occasionally
the sleeping-chambers do not lead straight off the common
verandah, there being a walled-in passage between them.
The cooking-places consist essentially of a square of
hardened mud, planked in around the edges. These are
placed in the living-rooms, but sometimes also in the
verandah; and, chimneys being unknown, when the fire is
smoking badly, a native house is almost unbearable to a
\_ European! In Tambatuan I have seen fireplaces made of a
thm slab of stone slightly concave in the centre. These
were placed at intervals in the public verandah.
Though there are many varieties of dw^ellings, the general
plan, whether of a communal house, or of a house for a
single family, is much the same. Above the fireplaces used
for cooking is a framework supporting shelves for holding
firewood and cooking-pots. |Both the inner and outer walls
of the house, especially in communal dwellings, are frequently
made of wooden planks or panels fitted to the roughly
squared main timbers, these being generally set vertically
with a skirting board at top and bottom. }
Considering the tools at the Dusuns' disposal, the work
is remarkably well executed. The planks and panels are
smoothed with a light native-made adze, and the work done
with this tool is often so fine that at a little distance it might
well be thought to have been produced by a plane.
J In smaller houses the walls may be made of beaten-out
sheet-bamboo, and, if the occupants are very poor, the
Houses, Domestic Affairs, Government 95
whole dwelling may^ consist simply of one room.y The
common verandah is sometimes open along the outside,
especially at Tuaran, sometimes closed in ; but in the latter
case there are small windows, longer than high, each fitted
with a board shutter, which is hinged above with a rattan
binding or with wooden bars. | Large windows of a peculiar
kind are found in the roofs of some houses. In these a
square piece of the thatch is left loose except along the
edge towards the roof-beam, where it is hinged. When
more air or light is required somebody climbs up and props
this piece of thatch open with a stick. The doors of the
living-rooms are frequently pivoted in wooden sockets. |
Nails, unless the natives have become very much accus-
tomed to European methods, are never used in house con-
struction, though, if I remember rightly J wooden pegs are
occasionally employed instead, j Native houses are bound
together with rattan cane, large beams and posts usually
being joined by removing a section from each, fitting them
together, and lashing them firmly with a rattan binding;
but rough methods of mortising are understood. Floors are
made of sheets of bamboo, more rarely of slats of palm-
wood. The house thatch, which slopes away from the
roof-beam on either side, is a series of "attaps," made of
the doubled and plaited leaves of some kind of palm-tree,
generally either nipa or sago palm, the former in the low-
lands, the latter up-country, though sago attaps last the
longest. In up-country districts huts are sometimes roofed
with bamboo shingles; when this is done the building is
generally of the lean-to type, with an almost flat roof.
The fife of a house is about seven years, or until the
main posts become rotten, the first parts of them to become
decayed being just above ground-level. Re-thatching may
have to be performed as often as once in three years, but
the frequency of this depends partly on the kind of attaps
used and partly on the closeness with which they have been
applied to the roof.
I
96 Houses, Domestic Affairs, Government
Above the roof-beam, at both ends of the house, stick up
a pair of wooden decorations called house-horns. These are
found upon both Bajau and Dusun dweUings, and are cut
out of flat pieces of wood — they may be simply prolonga-
tions of the beams upwards, but are often separate — which
are frequently roughly carved to represent weapons or
mythical animals. I am inclined to think that they may
have been originally intended to protect the house against
evil spirits, though I could obtain no evidence that the idea
persists at the present day.
On some cross-beams of the house, generally over the
sleeping rooms, are placed the large tree-bark store-bins for
padi which are called tangkob. Sometimes, however, padi-
stores, little huts, are built separate from the house, or a
small store is built on the platform outside the front door.
In other cases a separate room in the house is set aside for
holding padi. Over the door, or on the walls of a padi-
store, there are occasionally to be seen rows of short
perpendicular marks made with lime. These indicate the
numbers of measures taken out of the store by each inmate
of the house, who, on taking some rice, dips a finger into
his, or her, lime-box and adds a fresh smear to the series.
The communal houses of the Dusuns are nothing like so
long as those of the Dyaks, and one consisting of more
than five or six family compartments is rarely seen. The
largest I ever saw in the Tempassuk held eight families.
I have heard that among some of the Dusuns of the Murudu
district one long house constitutes the village, as among the
Dyaks. The Dusuns always talk not of a house of so
many rooms, but of so many doors. Many villages have
but few, or no, communal houses ; others consist chiefly of
small dwellings of this type.
In addition to the large numbers of pigs already mentioned,
a Dusun village has numerous other inhabitants, besides
human beings — fowls, cats, dogs, buifaloes and probably
also cattle and goats. The lean and mangy pariah-like
The Wife of the Headman of Tambatuan and her Favourite Pig.
Every householder has its pig, razor-backed, unpleasant-looking animals, which though scavengers,
arc regularly fed by their owners.
Houses, Domestic Affairs, Government 97
dogs are allowed free access to the houses, as the Dusuns
do not consider the dog an abomination, as do their Moham-
medan neighbours. Though they value good hunting-dogs,
they seldom, or never, give the animals sufficient to eat,
and consequently they are continually on the prowl to steal
any food which may have been carelessly left exposed. I
seldom remember having seen a Dusun fondle or make
much of his dog.
Cruelty to animals, either intentional or by neglect, is one
of the worst faults of the Dusuns. They will torture to
death monkeys, which they have caught robbing their crops,
in the most horrible manner ; and it probably never occurs to
a Dusun that a dog should be anything else but a sneaking,
shrinking, hungry, mangy cur. Bdonkeys; chiefly ^r<3:-monkeys
{Macacus nemestrina\ are sometimes kept as pets, and these
wretched beasts generally have their long tails chopped off.
I have asked Dusuns why they did this, but never could
obtain a satisfactory answer, the reply usually being that
long tails were dirty, or did not look nice.
I kept several pets while at Kotabelud, among them a
bear cub, a tame deer and a monkey ; but I found that it
was quite useless to rely upon my Dusun " boy " to feed
them. One day I noticed that the monkey, which was
tethered to a pole outside the kitchen door, had a bad
cut on its tail; so, calling up my Chinese cook, whom I
knew was invariably kind to animals, I asked him how it
had got wounded. He said he was not certain, but he
thought that the "boy" must have done it, as he had
seen him near the cook-house and had heard the monkey
shriek.
The boy, called and questioned, denied that he had hurt
the animal, but admitted that he had thrown a piece of wood
at it " in fun." Taking him by the arm, I led him up to
the monkey, which immediately started screaming with fright
and rushed away to the full length of its chain.
Thinking this sufficient proof, I took the boy into the
98 Houses, Domestic Affairs, Government
house and gave him a good thrashing with a rattan cane.
He was only a youth of about fifteen, and I had given him
a beating on several occasions before for various sins of
omission and commission without his making the slightest
demur, since he knew quite well that he deserved everything
that he got and a bit more. On this occasion, however, he
protested violently, saying that he did not assent to his
getting a beating. Nevertheless he got it, and, after
writhing at every blow, he rushed out of the room yelling :
'' The Tuan has half killed me, and all for a monkey that I
could buy by the hundred at fifty cents apiece ! " It was
quite useless explaining to him that he had been punished
forJrigxcruelty and not for damaging my property. ^^
^Ga^ in Dusun houses are generally as thin as the ^o^.
They are of the curious Malayan variety, which has a short,
stumpy tail with a bend in it. The vertebrce towards the
tip of the tail curve so sharply that the end is almost at
right angles to the rest.
The Dusuns are careful enough about animals which it
pays to keep in good condition, especially their pigs. These,
besides managing to find a good deal of food by routing
about on their own account, and often eating the most un-
pleasant garbage, are fed regularly twice every day, once
in the early morning, and again a little while before sundown.
At these times in up-country villages the valleys resound with
cries of " Kay ! Kay ! Kay ! " with which the Dusun women
call home their pigs to be fed with boiled kaladi stems and
other vegetables. Every pig knows its owner's voice and
trots up quickly when called. I still well remember the young
and pretty wife of Gumpus, the headman of Kampong Tam-
batuan, standing on a rounded boulder in front of the
house and distributing delicacies among the waiting herd
of porkers below; it was quite a picture of Beauty and
the Beasts.
Be^ are kept in many up-country villages, more, I think,
on account of the wax they produce than for their honey.
Houses, Domestic Affairs, Government 99
The hives are made by getting a section of hollow tree-
trunk, stopping it up at top and bottom and boring a hole
in one side as an entry. The species of bee in these hives
is a little, dark-coloured, rather thin-bodied insect, and the
inmates of a hive frequently collect in large clusters near
the entry. When anyone passes a hive with a cluster of
bees hanging to it, the whole assembly is set in violent
motion with a curious vibrating movement ; but its members
never seem to make any attempt to attack the intruder, and
in this their behaviour differs very much from that of one
wild species which makes its nests in hollow trees. These
frequently make themselves a great nuisance by flying out
and attacking travellers and often following them for a
considerable distance. The domesticated species cannot give
much trouble, as the hives are fixed to the walls of the
houses, often quite close to a window or sometimes actually
within the house itself. The Dusuns do not, I believe,
understand anything about hiving swarms. They simply
hang up a hive and it is taken possession of by the bees,
which are a wild species.
The honey is not considered particularly valuable, and at
Tambatuan 1 once bought three large combs for ten cents
(about 2|d.). These I took with me to the Government
halting-bungalow which stands just above the village, where
I was spending the night with Dr Piltz of the British North
Borneo Exploration Company. We indulged in some of the
honey on the spot, but unfortunately wild bees found out
that we had it, and came into the hut in such numbers that
we were forced to make a hasty exit, while the remainder of
the honey had to be thrown away and the hut smoked out
before we could return.
Dusun women's main household occupations, other than
looking after their children, are the husking and winnowing
of rice, cooking, fetching water from the river, and weaving
cloth. The unhusked rice or padi is pounded in a large
wooden mortar. The pestle, also of wood, is quite a heavy
loo Houses, Domestic Affairs, Government
alFair, and strenuous work is necessary to beat the grain out
of the husk. One of the prettiest sights to be seen in
Borneo is a bevy of native girls all pounding rice together.
The pestles keep perfect time, and it is a sheer delight to
watch the graceful movements of the lissom, brown-skinned
young beauties.
When the rice in the mortar has been sufficiently pounded,
it is taken out and put into a large circular winnowing-tray
of basket-work, which has a slightly raised rim. In winnow-
ing the grain from the chaff, the operator grasps the tray
firmly at the edges with the hands wide apart, the index
fingers being from time to time extended along the tray-
edge so as to be better able to control the utensil. The
tray is held horizontally in front of the operator, while, by
a series of rotatory movements, accompanied by little taps of
the index fingers, the husks are shaken towards the far edge
of the tray and the padi towards the operator. When a
large amount of chaff has collected, the tray is given a little
toss which sends the husks over the edge. The process is
repeated again and again until no husks are left.
Rice before being cooked is always thoroughly washed.
The grain is placed in the cooking-pot and water poured
over it; it is then well stirred round and handfuls of it
taken and pressed repeatedly in the water. The water in
the pot becomes milky, and in village-grown rice is coloured
by the starch, dirt and other substances in suspension. The
dirty water is poured away and the process repeated until
washing no longer discolours the water. When the rice is
thoroughly clean, sufficient water is added to just cover it,
and then the pot put on a slow fire to heat until the water
has all been driven off and the rice next the inside of the
vessel has begun to cake and brown.
Dusun cooking is generally exceedingly rough, quite large
animals being roasted whole in their skins, sometimes with-
out even removing the intestines. Fish are either boiled or
grilled.
I
Houses, Domestic Affairs, Government loi
A great part of the Dusun's time is spent away from home
in attending to his padi-fields. In fact at harvest and just
before it the villages are almost deserted, whole families
migrating to their clearings, which are often as much as a
couple of miles or more away. Here they live in a tem-
porary hut or sulapy the crop requiring constant watching
by night and day to protect it from the attentions of birds,
pigs, deer and rats.
At other times of the year, when there is rather less
work, the men, and often many of the women-folk, leave
the village shortly after daylight, the former all carrying
spears and some of the latter baskets on their backs, in
which they are going to bring back tubers for the evening
meal. They work in the fields during the morning and lie
off during the heat of the day, returning home towards
sundown. Frequently if a village is visited at any hour
between eight in the morning and four or five in the after-
noon nobody will be found at home except the very oldest
men and women, whom age and infirmities have rendered
incapable of field work, or the young children left in their
charge.
When harvest is over, more people are to be found at
home in the villages, for then work is at a minimum and the
Dusuns give themselves up to feasting, drinking and other
forms of enjoyment. Parties are made to renew the fish-
traps in the river below the village, while a good deal of
time is spent in repairing the long stone walls of the
shoot-traps, and in fishing with rod and line.
The Dusuns never seem to have evolved any higher form
of organisation than the village community, and in die old
days neighbouring settlements were often at feud. | Over
each village is a headman, who at the present day is respon-
sible to the Government for the good behaviour of the people
under his charge, settles small disputes concerning native
customs, and collects poll-tax of a dollar a head from all adult
males, receiving ten per cent, commission for his trouble. In
I02 Houses, Domestic Affairs, Government
some villages — Tambatuan, for instance — I do not know if in
all, the headmanship nominally descends from father to son,
though I expect that formerly anyone who was capable of
getting together a following would have been able to seize
the leadership.
CHAPTER XI
AGRICULTURE, FISHING, HUNTING 6* TRAPPING
THE jSusulK^rg^^imaril^jn^ agriculturist, but that is
norTJ^'any means to say that he neglects other em-
ployments which may provide him with food. Every-
thing is " fish which comes to his net," from a maggot to a
buffalo. ^^,_-»^^
In thr^lowland^egions the stagTe^j^^ is jr^fligj. This
is at first-ptSfffed out in nurseries ; then when the
have attaiiii^d^ a certain height they are tk[g\u[pj their top?
are oof*'q|^ they are tied into bundles anS^arried by the
"wo^^-.;T3D the swampy padi-fields where they are set out in
rows with the help of a short wooden dibble. The fields
require a good deal of preparation each year before the
seedlings can be planted out, and for this rain is a necessity.
As soon as sufficient has fallen operations are begun.
Each field is bounded on its four sides by a bank of
hardened mud, and the water, if an insufficient amount
collects, naturally is conducted from the nearest brook,
which is obstructed by a dam. The water finds its way
from field to field, the embankments being temporarily
breached for this purpose. When enough has been ad-
mitted the breaches are again closed and, after the water
has stood for some time and the weeds have died down, the
land is ready for ploughing.
The Dusun plough is an extremely simple 'ipontrivance of
wood with an iron-shod share./ It is drawn by a buffalo/
which i^s attached to it by very / primitive harnes^ and is
MveSjJ^ means of a ij^e^£Qr3^ and a switch or rattans.
After ploughing, the soil, now in a semi-liquid state, is
harrowed by harnessing a buffalo to a large bamboo frame
103
I04 Agriculture, Fishing, Hunting,
under which are fitted projecting spikes of the same material
as the frame, or of nibong palm-wood. This contrivance is
dragged about the field, often with the driver standing on it.
Two other contrivances drawn by buffaloes are also used
for smoothing and levelling the soil : one is a kind of large
rake with a rail-like handle which enables the driver to raise
or depress the implement as required ; the other a heavy and
almost semicircular beam of hard wood which is dragged
about to level inequalities of the ground, the driver mount-
ing the implement to increase its weight. Harrowing having
been completed, the land is ready for the reception of the
young seedlings. Between planting out and harvest the crop
requires to be kept free of weeds, this work being apportioned
to the women and children.
When the grain is ripening it attracts large flocks of
weaver-birds, and is, besides, liable to be destroyed by in-
roads of rats, pigs and deer. To protect the padi against
these visitors the Dusuns build small huts in the fields and
station watchers in them, or sometimes a whole family will
live there until the harvest is completed. One method of
scaring birds is to plant a number of bamboo poles loosely in
the ground at various points in the fields. These are con-
nected by strings to which are attached rags, bunches of
grass and other suitable objects. The different strings lead
up from the posts into the watcher's hut and are usually
tied altogether to a beam. The watcher is thus enabled to
take his ease in the shade, and at the same time to keep
birds away from the whole field by jerking at the bunch of
strings which sets all the scarers in motion.
Reaping, which is done with a special type of knife, is left
to the women and children, as is all but the very heaviest
field work. There are two special kinds : one type consists
of a thin blade of iron set at right angles across, and in
about the centre of, a wooden handle ; this is grasped in the
right hand, so that the blade is between the second and third
fingers. In reaping, the padi stalks are drawn with these
H- si o
1^ >.
o «
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Agriculture, Fishing, Hunting, ^c. 105
two fingers against the blade and thus cut through. The
other kind of reaping-knife has a blade which is broad
at the end and narrow near the handle, the back curving
upwards towards the end farthest from the handle.
The Dusuns of the hill villages plant dry ricQ as their chief
crop. The cultivation of this necessitates the making of a
fresh clearing in the jungle every season. When the forest
has been felled with adzes and chopping-knives it is left to dry
for a while and is then fired. The burning does not entirely
destroy the tree-trunks, but the ground is sufficiently cleared
to allow sowing to take place. This work is done by the
women, who drill lines of holes with sharpened stakes of
hard wood and drop several grains into each. The holes
are not filled in, and a watcher is generally set for a
few days to keep away birds until the earth has tumbled
down so as to cover the seed or has been washed over it
by rain.
The hill padi needs just as much looking after as wet rice,
or rather more, since the clearing is surrounded by jungle,
the haunts of deer and pig : in fact, during the padi season
the up-country Dusun lives more on his clearing than in his
village, the tiny little hut (sulap) which he builds being
crowded with himself and his family. After harvest, if it
has been plentiful, the Dusun gives himself up to eating and
drinking.
Occasionally, if the weather has been very wet at the
burning season, the Dusuns are unable to clear their ground
properly and the crop is a failure ; in this case they have to
support themselves as best they may on jungle tubers and
whatever small animals and fish they are able to catch in
their traps.
The planting of hill padi is destructive to large stretches
of jungle, but it is difficult to see what method could be sub-
stituted for it, unless the Dusuns could be taught to terrace
the sides of the valleys and plant wet padi. The shallow
soil of the hill-side will support crops of padi for a few years
io6 Agriculture, Fishing, Hunting, ^c.
at the outside, and actually the Dasuns only use it once,
planting, when the padi has sprung up, kaladi (Caladiuni)
among the young crop. For the next season's padi crop a
new piece of jungle has to be felled and burned, and when
the kaladi tubers have reached maturity and been dug up
the old clearing is abandoned.
After some years, perhaps about twenty, when tall second-
ary jungle has grown up on it, it may be used again, the soil
having had a rest and a certain amount of new humus having
accumulated. In the coastal regions dry or hill padi is a good
deal planted on flat land which it is difficult to irrigate. The
plough and harrow are used in preparing the ground, and
the land will support a crop for two or three years running.
A few of the up-country villages of the Tempassuk, for in-
stance Tambatuan, have a little wet rice land in the valley.
Probably old ground might be used more frequently, but as
it is very troublesome to clear the grass, weeds and brush-
wood which spring up in a year or two, the people prefer to
wait until comparatively large trees have grown up and killed
the undergrowth.
As mentioned elsewhere, a considerable amount of tobacco
is grown at Kiau, and in various villages of the Interior pro-
vince. Other crops occasionally planted are tapioca and
Indian corn, the last to a very small extent among the
Dusuns. Sometimes also quite large patches of native
cucumbers are met with, which, though they have not so
much taste as those grown in Europe, are nevertheless a
very welcome vegetable. Small onions, like spring onions
or little leeks, a French bean, as well as pumpkins and a
kind of vegetable marrow, are other vegetables occasion-
ally obtainable. The fruit grown in the Tempassuk and
other parts of Borneo I have dealt with in a former
chapter.
The Dusuns are particularly clever at obtaining both small
and large animals by means of traps. For catching deer
spring spear-traps and nooses are prepared, while for pig
Agriculture, Fishing, Hunting, ^c. 107
spear-traps, trigger fall traps and pit-traps — the bottom of
the last-mentioned studded with pointed bamboo stakes — are
most generally used.
The blantek^ blatek or tuil, names under which the spring
spear-trap is known, has the spear set at different heights
according to the kind of game it is required to kill ; thus
for pig it is set at about the height of the calf of a man's
leg from the ground and for deer at the height of a man's
chest. Owing to numbers of people having been killed or
wounded by traps of this kind, they are now illegal, and
are only set by stealth; consequently I have never seen
one, but I understand that the spring power is supplied by
a bent sapling and the trap exploded by means of a trigger-
cord stretched across the game-track. The long bamboo
spears with which hlantek are armed were several times during
my residence in Borneo brought into court when Dusuns were
charged with setting them. This type of trap is, I believe,
essentially similar to that called peti lanchar in Sarawak, an
example of which is figured in Ling Roth's Natives of Sarawak
and British North Borneo (vol. i., p. 440).
The pit-traps for pig are covered over with sticks and
leaves, so as to resemble the surrounding earth : they are,
of course, dug in the middle of a game-track, generally close
to the spot where the pigs have broken through a garden
fence.
Deer, when not hunted with a pack of dogs and spears,
are frequently driven against a row of rattan nooses sus-
pended from a long cord of the same material. A large
number of beaters is necessary to accomplish successfully
one of these drives, and a section of jungle known to be
haunted by deer must be found, which is of suitable shape
for the purpose — i,e, one which is rather triangular, so that
the line of nooses may be set not far from its apex, the
deer being driven down from the broader portions. The
Dusuns are also exceedingly clever at making fall- and noose-
traps for small animals, chiefly rats and squirrels, and a very
io8 Agriculture, Fishing, Hunting,
common type of squirrel-trap worked by a trigger and a
bow is illustrated by Burbidge in Gardens of the Sun.
When the harvest is over the hill people are at a loss for
regular employment, and so betake themselves to the river
to set their fish-traps in order. The most common type of
large trap consists of two converging stone walls with a
basket fixed at the end. The trap is built in the form of
a V with the broad end facing up-stream, and its walls are
composed of large rounded boulders collected from the river
bed. These walls are of considerable length, and are built
so as more or less to dam a considerable portion of the river.
Thus the water within the stone walls, especially near their
apex, is at rather a higher level than that of the stream
outside them. The long conical basket affixed to the narrow
end of the trap retains the fish and at the same time allows
the pent-up water to escape. As the walls of the trap and the
water between them are above the level of 'the stream,
the basket is also elevated considerably above the surface,
and the water from the trap plunges down through it to
join the main body of the river again. A slight bridge of
two bamboos, one for a hand-rail and one for the feet, is
often built from the bank to the end of the trap in order
to facilitate the collection of the catch.
Few fish are caught in these traps unless the river is
swollen by heavy rain, but then large hauls are the rule ;
for at such times the fish make their way down-stream in
search of suitable holes and eddies in which they may
shelter themselves from the force of the stream, and thus pass
in large numbers between the stone walls and into the basket.
When the river is badly in flood — frequent occurrence —
the bamboo bridge becomes almost a necessity, for it is an ex-
tremely dangerous experiment to try and wade the Tempassuk
after heavy rains, many Dusuns, swept away by the rush of
water, having paid for their temerity with their lives.
Another method of trapping fish occasionally employed
is to select a shallow stretch of river where the bed is
Agriculture, Fishing, Hunting, ^c. 109
wider than usual and the current not very swift, and there
to build a series of large stone- walled chambers, each
connected with the next by a small opening, the main
entrance to the trap, as before, facing up-stream. Fish
make their way into the chambers and are then easily
captured and dispatched.
One very ingenious form of trap is a bottomless conical
basket of natural or wait-a-bit rattan twigs. The reflexed
thorns of the plant are left adhering on the inside, the
strands of rattan being so arranged that the thorns point
backwards — that is, towards the apex of the trap. Walls
of stones with small holes in them at intervals are built at
right angles across the river to receive the traps. These
are inserted with their opening facing up-stream, so that fish
descending the river put their heads into what appears to
them to be breaches in the wall, but are unable to with-
draw again owing to the thorns of the traps catching them
under their scales. Often this type of trap is used without
thorns. The fish get their heads wedged in and cannot
escape. A similar kind of trap is made in the Malay States,
where it is called tengkalak onak.
Several varieties of basket fish-traps are made by the
Dusuns, the principle of all being that of easy entry and
difficult escape. The usual method is to make a conical
entrance to the trap out of strips of rattan or other material,
the point of the cone being directed inwards. The fish
can thus easily make their way into the trap, but when
they try to make their way out again, even if they can
find the place at which they entered, they are unable to
push apart the converging strips of cane which form the
point of the cone.
Several methods of rod-and-line fishing are employed, one
of which resembles fly fishing with a grasshopper or other
insect for bait. For fishing the pools in the river the line
is weighted with a small piece of lead and baited with a
worm, or anything else which will attract the fish. A light
no Agriculture, Fishing, Hunting, ^c.
float is often used on the line in ditches and other still
waters.
A rather remarkable method of fishing is by " splashing " ;
to perform this a man walks along the bank of a deep and
rather sluggish stream with a rod and a short line, to the
end of which is attached a small piece of sheet-brass armed
with either one or two hooks. He drops the bait into the
water and then splashes the water about with the top of
the rod, the movements of the rod top causing the bait to
jump about as if alive. Fish lurking under the banks or
on the bottom come and seize the bait, and sometimes quite
large catches are made.
Among the lowland Dusuns small streams are often
dammed, in order to catch the fish which lurk in the deeper
holes, while scoop-like baskets or hand-nets are used for
bailing out the catch. The flat, marshy country between
Kotabelud and Pindasan is a favourite place for this method
of fish-catching, and also for hunting for tortoises and fresh-
water turtles. The juice obtained from the roots of the tuba
plant {Deris eliptica) is sometimes used for stupefying fish in
rivers and pools, the roots being pounded up and the juice
poured into the water. Catching fish by torchlight is a
favourite pursuit of both Dusuns and Bajaus, and, when the
water in the Tempassuk is low, parties are out along the
river bank night after night. The fish are dazed, or even
attracted, by the glare of the torches and allow themselves
to be killed with a chopping-knife or a fish-spear without
making the slightest effort to escape.
Any European can make himself popular with a whole
Dusun village by dynamiting a couple of pools in the river.
Everyone in the place turns out to take a share in the fun,
grandfathers, fathers, mothers, grandchildren and bevies of
Dusun girls, whose partly assumed modesty and shy giggles
greatly add to the amusement of the occasion. The women
and children, armed with hand-nets or scoop-shaped baskets,
stretch themselves in a line across the river in the shallows
Agriculture, Fishing, Hunting, &^c. 1 1 1
below the pool. The cartridge is thrown in, a dull boom is
heard, and a small column of water leaps from the surface of
the river. Then all is excitement, hasty grabs at escaping
fish are made by the watchers in the shallows ; the younger
men of the village dive again and again into the pool, bring-
ing up each time half-stunned fish which are lurking near the
bottom; sweeps are made at floating fish with hand-net or
basket, and finally, when nothing more remains to be caught,
a move is made to the bank and the catch counted and
divided.
I
CHAPTER XII
FOOD, NARCOTICS &> INTOXICANTS
THE Dusun is nearly omnivorous. Rice, fish, meat,
vegetables, fruit, jungle roots, squirrels, monkeys,
rats, snakes, tortoises, lizards and frogs are eagerly
devoured, even such foul and musky smelling reptiles as the
monitor-lizard not being despised. I remember shooting
one of these animals on a small creek near Tenghilan,
where I used occasionally to stop for the night on the
way from Tuaran to Kotabelud. Wishing to preserve
its skin, but not being willing to skin the animal myself,
I turned it over to a coolie, on condition that he should
have the body to eat if he would take off the skin for
me. The offer was accepted with alacrity and I was
afterwards informed that the meat was splendid !
Around many of the villages monkeys and small game,
such as rats, have been almost exterminated, a fact which
has struck several zoologists who have visited Mount
Kinabalu in search of specimens. Of course, as with
most Eastern people, the staple food of the Dusuns is rice,
but in addition large quantities of kaladi (Caladium sp.)
and tapioca root are consumed. Fresh-water fish, as has
been shown, are easy to obtain, for the rivers teem with
many different kinds, and dry or fresh sea-fish can be
purchased in the markets.
Occasionally, when the padi crop is a failure, and the
produce of supplementary cultivation is insufficient to main-
tain him, the Dusun has to fall back on jungle roots to
supply the deficiency. Certain poisonous tubers called
kadut are dug, cut into thin slices, and placed for some
hours in a basket, which is set down in a shallow stream
112
I
'W^»."»J»;'«SBif--
A DusuN Family Party on the March.
The old man has a spear in his right hand, which he uses as a walking stick, or against a pig,
or other animal he may encounter. The point of the spear is protected by a two-piece wooden
sheath bound with strips of rattan cane. Note the inevitable chopping knife on the left thigh.
A DusuN Fish-Trap in the Kadamaian River.
A trap of this kind is constructed at the narrow end of two long V-shaped, converging walls of
stones, built in the river bed, ani having their larger opening up-stream. It consists of a long
shoot of bamboos leading to a removable, conical basket, into which the fish fall.
Food, Narcotics &^ Intoxicants 113
so that a constant current of water shall flow over its
contents. When all the poisonous elements have been
thus removed, the tubers are ready for cooking. I once
saw this vegetable being washed at a Dusun village not
far from Pindasan. The padi crop had been a failure,
and the people were half starving. Measures were taken
for their relief.
With regard to food in general, the Dusun appreciates
quantity more than quality. An Illanun chief once re-
marked to me: "These Dusun coolies eat like buffaloes;
a whole saucepan of rice per man is not enough for
them." Some epicures like their game high. Burbidge, in
Gardens of the Sun, tells us how a Dusun "had two rats
— rather high they were too — which he roasted entire and
ate with great gusto."
The Dusun methods of cooking are boiling, stewing and
roasting. Small fish or bits of meat are often roasted by
putting them into the cleft of a stick, which is sharpened
at the other end for sticking into the ground. Three stones
or three short stakes of wood or bamboo are used to
support the cooking-pots.
But to return to the subject of high food, the Dusuns
have one delicacy — a kind of potted meat — which to
European ideas is a most disgusting compound. The
basis of it is raw salted meat of some kind or other,
usually buffalo, treated with powdered seeds of the tree
which the Malays call kapayang^ the Dusuns pangL This
is put away in jars, where it is left till far advanced in
decomposition, when it is considered ready for use. A
jar of potted meat is often opened at a drinking-party,
and its vile stench corrupts the air of the whole village.
The Dusuns obtain their salt from theBajaus and Illanuns
of the coast, but the subject of salt-making is one with which
I will deal later. Cooking is largely done in native pots of
greyish-coloured clay or brass vessels, purchased, in the latter
case, from Brunei traders or Chinese store-keepers, but
114 Food, Narcotics &^ Intoxicants
European saucepans are coming more and more into use.
Fish, caught in traps in the river, when not eaten fresh, are
spUt open and sun-dried. A disgusting smell arises from
these during the drying process, clouds of flies setthng on
and buzzing around them. According to Whitehead, in
Exploration of Mount Kinabalu^ p. 183, "rats are often
split and fixed on bamboo frames, then smoked and stuck
over the fireplaces in the houses until required " ; but, though
no doubt his observations are correct, I never remember
having seen this done myself.
The water-vessel in all Bornean houses is a length of
bamboo, the body of the vessel being a long single inter-
node, and the bottom an adjacent node. In the morning
women carry down a number of these to the river on their
shoulders, fill them and bring them back to the houses, the
supply of water being generally suflScient to last for the
day. Occasionally, when a village is far from a supply of
drinking water, an aqueduct of bamboos split into halves
and supported on slight poles is built to the nearest spring.
Dusuns have a rather curious habit of preserving the
skulls and bones of animals they have eaten, a piece of the
under side of the thatch often being decorated with numbers
of these trophies. Among them are generally remains of
squirrels, pigs, rats, and sometimes of the muntjac or of
deer.
Rice, as has been remarked before, is the staple diet.
Various condiments, red peppers, etc., are sometimes mixed
with the rice and fish to give spice to the meal. The
mixture is pressed into boluses with the fingers of the right
hand, and transferred from the plate to the mouth, the head
being tilted backwards. Spoons cut from joints of bamboo
are used in Dusun cookery, as are also wooden stirrers or
spatulas. For figures of these Ling Roth's Natives of
Sarawak and British North Borneo^ vol. i., p. 380, should
be consulted.
At Tuaran the women have the abnormal habit of eating
Food, Narcotics &^ Intoxicants 115
earth, which is also found in other parts of Borneo, in Java
and the Federated Malay States. Not far from the Chinese
shops at this station there is a gully, which at the time of
heavy rains has a small stream running at the bottom of it.
The sides of the gully are made of a bluish grey clay with
one or two bands of a hard dark purplish red clay running
through it. At about six o'clock in the evening it is usual
to see anything up to about a dozen women digging out
this red clay with pointed sticks or small knives, and putting
it into baskets. I have been told that the clay is roasted
before being eaten, and that some women consume very
large quantities. It is said to be a good medicine for
women who are enceinte. I have several times dug out a
sample and eaten it myself; it has rather the consistency of
chocolate, but is almost tasteless.
To the native mind a sireh chew and tobacco to smoke are
only a little less necessary than food. The ingredients of
the quid, as made up in Borneo, are a sireh leaf — sireh is a
climbing pepper — a piece of nut from the betel palm, a piece
of gambler, which is bought from the Chinese in small
cubes, a little native-grown tobacco, and a smear of lime
obtained by burning sea- or fresh-water shells or coral. The
coarsest veins are stripped out of the sireh leaf, and a smear
or two of lime put on its upper surface. Sufficient quantities
of betel, gambler and tobacco are then put into the half-
folded leaf, and the whole made into a bundle and pushed
into the mouth. Occasionally, when too little lime has been
added to the chew, a native will produce his lime-box and
taking out some of the lime-paste on his little finger smear
it on a back tooth.
Chewing causes a copious flow of saliva and colours it red,
so that a new-comer to the country, following a path much
used by natives, might think that a wounded man had pre-
ceded him along it. The habit is certainly not particularly
pleasing, and the appearance of a quite pretty young woman
is often spoiled by her having a ragged-looking wad of half-
ii6 Food, Narcotics &^ Intoxicants
chewed sireh and tobacco protruding from one corner of her
mouth. Old people, who have lost their teeth, find it im-
possible to manage a quid made up in the manner described
above ; but for all this they are not to be deprived of one
of their chief pleasures, so they put the ingredients of the
chew into a tabular mortar of iron, brass, or bamboo, and
pound it up with a pestle with a sharpened end.
A sireb quid has an aromatic, pungent and astringent
taste, and, speaking from my own experience, is distinctly
stimulating. When a guest visits a Dusun house the host
immediately produces sireb and tobacco, the former being
contained either in a tray or in one of those beautiful old
brass caskets so treasured by the Dusuns. These are
always much worn at the bottom from being perpetually
pushed along the floor of the house from guest to guest.
The caskets contain small boxes for the lime, tobacco and
gambler, with a pair of special scissors for cutting up the
betel-nut. Not to oflfer a guest sireh would be a breach of
the laws of Dusun hospitality.
Tobacco is used not only for chewing, but also for
smoking, though pipes are not known among the Tempassuk
and Tuaran Dusuns ; they are used, however, by other
tribes, notably the Muruts. The Dusun medium of smoking
is the cigarette, which is covered with a wrapper made from
the flower-spathe of the nipa palm. These wrappers, which
are called kirai, can be bought ready cut and made up into
bundles at all the markets. Native cigarettes are not a bad
substitute for the European variety, if anyone runs out
of stock, but the wrapper tastes rather more than the
tobacco, and they are drying to the throat, and tend to
produce a cough.
The Dusuns have, rather unfairly, I think, got a certain
reputation as drunkards. It is true that they often drink to
excess, but this is a rule only at nights after the day's work
is done, or when work is slack, as, for instance, after harvest,
which is the general season of rejoicing. Then you may
Food, Narcotics &^ Intoxicants 117
sometimes find whole villages drunk, men, women and even
children; but it is rarely that a Dusun takes to drink, as
many Europeans do, to such an extent that he becomes
incapable of doing his daily work. This is not for want
of opportunity, as every man makes his own liquor, and
the supply is limited only by the number of coco-nut
trees.
One good point about native intoxicants is that they seem
to have comparatively little ill effect; a man will be dead
drunk at night and get up the next morning without even a
headache. Natives have often told me this, adding that gin,
arrack or whisky bought at the Chinese shops made them
feel very ill the next morning : not that native drink is not
strong, especially the kind known as tapai, which contains
a large percentage of alcohol, but it is made from good
materials and is free from adulteration. Luckily so far the
Dusuns do not seem to have taken very much to the vile
products sold as brandy and whisky by the Chinese, this
probably being chiefly owing to their high price compared
with native-brewed drink. Around Tuaran some of the
men drink arrack and gin, and illicit stills run by Chinese
sometimes give trouble to the authorities.
The Dusun is a great man at convivial gatherings and a
regular connoisseur with regard to the liquor he drinks. It
is the height of hospitality to make a visitor drunk, and the
guest will probably regard his host as mean if he does not
give him enough drink to make him go home staggering.
In deference to native custom, whenever Dusuns came to
see me, I used to provide a stock of liquor, native-brewed,
and on one occasion when I was doling it out rather sparingly,
partly because I did not want to have a noisy party in the
house, and partly because I did not wish to encourage
drunken habits, one of the Dusuns asked for some more,
saying: "Look here, Tuan, you would not like us to
go home to our villages and say you had not made us
properly drunk, would you ? " After this nothing re-
ii8 Food, Narcotics &^ Intoxicants
mained but to send out for some fresh drink and be truly
hospitable.
The liquor chiefly drunk is toddy, locally known as babr.
It is made from the sap of the coco-nut palm, obtained by
cutting the end of a young flowering shoot, which, of course,
has a great sap pressure in it. A large bamboo receptacle
is hung underneath the cut end of the shoot, and into this
the liquor trickles. A piece of a certain kind of tree-bark
called russak is placed in the bamboo tube, and this is said
to hasten the fermentation of the drink, and to give it the
peculiar bitter taste which the Dusuns like. The end of
the shoot has a fresh slice, a very thin one, taken oflf it at
least once a day in order to keep the sap perpetually flowing,
and at about half-past six, when the people return to the
village from work in the padi-fields, each tree which is being
tapped has a brown-skinned human monkey concealed some-
where among its leaves, who is collecting the drink which
has accumulated, reslicing the end of the shoot with the
peculiarly shaped knife used for the purpose, and hanging
on a fresh receptacle.
Sometimes the trees are notched to help the climbers, but
the majority of natives will "walk" straight up a coco-nut
palm trunk without any other assistance than that of their
hands and feet. This they do by planting their feet firmly
against the trunk of the tree so that their legs are almost at
right angles to it, at the same time embracing it with both
hands ; their bodies, which are bent at the hips, being thus
almost parallel to the tree-trunk. Next they jerk both
hands forward a little and, when they have got a good grip,
bring up their feet to the same extent. In this way they
are enabled to climb the trees in a few seconds.
Newly collected toddy ferments very fast, and it is im-
possible to keep it in a corked bottle. In colour and density
it looks something like ginger-beer, but occasionally has a
pinkish tinge. When fresh it is sweet and faintly remini-
scent of very bad cider, but it leaves a nasty sour taste in
Food, Narcotics &^ Intoxicants 119
the mouth. After standing for some few hours it becomes
bitter, and is then, according to Dusun ideas, at its best,
though a European would probably prefer it freshly drawn.
A large bamboo of toddy can be obtained for from ten to
twenty cents, a couple of bamboos being sufficient to have
" the desired effect " for two or three men.
Toddy drinking in markets is supposed to be prohibited
owing to the quarrels which occur among the Dusuns when
under the influence of liquor; however, if the "Tuan"
would like a drink, one can usually be procured at short
notice, as I know from personal experience ; and in the lesser
markets, which are infrequently visited by the police, the
coco-nut-shell cup passes round merrily without any fear of
a thirsty private annexing the brew under the pretext that
Government regulations are being infringed.
Tapai^ which is the intoxicant most in favour about
harvest time, though not a spirit — since it undergoes no
process of distillation — is, nevertheless, extremely potent.
It is made by pouring water on rice with which has been
mixed some fermented rice-flour. The yeast for setting up
the fermentation is, in Tambatuan in the Tempassuk district,
made as follows. Rice-flour is mixed with sugar and water
and made into a small ball, which is tied up in laIang-gT2iSS
leaves and hung up under the thatch till it has become quite
hardened and mouldy. It is then pounded up and mixed
with more rice-flour and water. This compound is made up
into small balls, which are hung up outside the house for
three or four days and are taken in at night. After they
are sufficiently matured, a quantity of rice is boiled and
allowed to cool, and then the balls of yeast are pounded up
and mixed into it. The tapai rice is put into a jar, and,
after a day or so, when it begins to taste sweet, water is
poured in and the top of the jar tied up. After three or
four days the liquor is ready to drink. If the tapai is kept
for about ten days or so it becomes sour, and is no longer
good. The tapai rice will keep for a long time, but if
I20 Food, Narcotics &^ Intoxicants
water is added the tapai resulting must be drunk within a
few days. This account of tapai-mddung was given me by
Gumpus, headman of Tambatuan.
Tapai^ even when not drunk straight from the jar, is
served up with the rice still in it, and for straining off this,
while drinking, I have seen one very ingenious type of filter.
A short piece of bamboo with a node at one end is taken,
and long and narrow slots cut in it longitudinally, these
being sufficiently small to prevent grains of rice passing
through. This strainer is placed in the tapai with a rather
long reed or small but fairly long joint of bamboo loose
inside it. By applying his lips to the bamboo tube, which
is much longer than the filter portion of the apparatus, the
drinker is thus able to suck up the tapai without getting any
rice into his mouth.
Not only is the tapai drunk, but even the rice which forms
a thick layer at the bottom of the jar is not rejected, this
having a strong taste of the liquor. I have both drunk tapai
and eaten rice from the tapai j^r, but I am at a loss to know
to what European drink I can compare it, unless it be to bad
brandy. Tapai rice has a burning taste and tapai itself is
quite fiery to the throat. The Malays of the Malay Penin-
sula make a kind of tapai cake, which is exactly similar in
taste to the tapai rice of Borneo.
Besides the harvest season, every event of any importance,
birth, death or marriage, is an excuse for a good deal of
drinking, and toddy is, of course, drunk daily in the houses,
and in the huts (sulap) which are built for watching the
padi-fields. The Dusuns nearly always drink and eat at
the same time, otherwise, they say, they get intoxicated too
quickly, small fish, boiled or broiled in the embers of a fire,
being much in favour for consumption at drinking-parties.
As remarked above, native-brewed drinks apparently do
but little harm, but the British North Borneo Company
should follow the excellent example of the Federated Malay
States Government and make the selling of foreign spirituous
Food, Narcotics ^ Intoxicants 121
k liquors to natives a punishable offence. Unfortunately a
Chartered Company which has to do its best to pay interest
to its shareholders, and which depends for a large amount of
revenue on the leases of the spirit, opium and gambling farms,
can hardly be expected to act in so disinterested a manner,
having indeed every temptation to obtain money in any way
it can.
CHAPTER XIII
COURTSHIP, MARRIAGE &- DIVORCE, BURIAL &>
PUBERTY CUSTOMS
THE Tuaran villagers are comparatively well ofF, and
their berians — i,e. the purchase prices paid for wives
— are much larger than those of the natives of the
Tempassuk or the up-country parts of the Tuaran district. I
was, unfortunately, never present at a Dusun marriage; but
information obtained from natives was to the effect that there
was little or no ceremony beyond a feast, at which a buffalo
was killed and eaten and a good deal of toddy drunk. These
statements are further borne out by Mr Whitehead's account
of a Dusun marriage at Melangkap in The Exploration of
Kinahalu^ p. no.
As far as I know, the wife goes to live with the husband,
and not the husband with the wife's parents, as is done
in some tribes. Whitehead says that in Melangkap the
husband lives for a while with the wife's parents. Monogamy
is the general rule, but I occasionally heard of a man with
two wives. Shortly before I left the Tempassuk, Yompo, a
young headman of Kiau, was meditating taking a second
wife, as his first had proved barren ; but probably he woul
divorce his old wife before taking a new one, since divorce
is easy, and depends only on the husband's wish.
If a man divorces his wife on account of some serious
fault on her part, he can obtain the return of at least a part
of her herian from her relations, but if he sends away his
wife merely at his own wish, the herian cannot be recovered.
The herian paid for a widow or a divorced woman is about
half that for a virgin. Formerly the punishment for incest
was death.
122
Courtship, Marriage, Divorce, ^c. 123
Among the pagan races of Borneo much greater facilities
for courtship are allowed than among the Mohammedans,
though the women of the Mohammedan tribes are free as
compared with their sisters in other countries. The Sea
Dyak lover visits his inamorata stealthily by night, when
the family are supposed to be asleep, though, as a matter of
fact, these visits are usually known to the girl's relations and
connived at. It is said that this method of courting seldom
results in immorality. (Various authorities quoted by Ling
Roth, Natives of Sarawak and British North Borneo^ vol. i.,
pp. 109 and no.) Sarebas Dyaks have now, however,
given me a different account. One man informed me that
if the parents of a girl did not connive at her responding to
I her lover's advances there would be little chance of the girl
I marrying. As far as I have been able to discover, Dusun
^ methods of courting are somewhat similar to those of the
Dyaks, though I am inclined to think that their nocturnal
visits are not always so blameless.
As mentioned in another chapter, at Tuaran, where many
of the youths and young men wear long hair, it is customary
for the maidens to search for insects among her lover's
locks, and it is said that these are often eaten ! In some
villages of the Tempassuk it is usual for a man, when he
wishes to notify the parents of a girl that he intends to
court their daughter, to take off his coat and hang it up
near the door of the house.
At Tuaran, marriages, especially those of the children of
people of importance, are often arranged at an early age.
The chief negotiations which must be gone through before
marriage can take place are concerned with the fixing of the
amount of berian (Jit, a giving), which must be paid by
the suitor to the girl's brother, as the berian becomes his
property. The aged women-kind of both parties usually
take a considerable share in the discussions relating to this
subject. When the price is fixed the marriage can take
place. Sometimes a berian is paid in kind, sometimes in
124 Courtship, Marriage, Divorce,
money ; and an example of a Tuaran herian is given in
another chapter.
When a Dusun dies, the first thought of his relatives
after burying him is to rid themselves of the presence of his
ghost, in case it should be still lingering about the house, or
should be able to find its way back from the graveyard. At
Piasau in the Tempassuk the v^^omen who lament at the
burial cry aloud to the spirit of the deceased : " Do not stop
here, for your way lies to the left " {i,e, to Mount Kinabalu,
the home of dead Dusuns). At the same village the
bamboo bier on which the body is carried to the grave-side
is hacked to pieces, and I have heard that in some localities
the people, on returning from a funeral, slash at the steps
and door of the house in which the death has occurred, in
order to drive away the spirit of the deceased.
After returning from a funeral, all the mourners betake
themselves to the river to bathe, I imagine in order to
cleanse themselves from the pollution of having taken part
in a burial. In the village of Tambatuan, and probably
elsewhere, the inhabitants of a house in which a death has
occurred are tabu, and remain secluded for a week. Accord-
ing to Dusun ideas it would be very unlucky to wear the
clothes of a dead person, so these are hung up over the
grave, and at Tambatuan those of virgins are embroidered
before disposing of them in this way. I believe that this
only applies to the clothes actually in use at the time of
death. Valuable cloths, etc., stored away are, I think, kept
and used.
After a funeral, the grave is left to fall into decay
untended, the Dusuns being generally unwilling to enter
graveyards unless it is necessary to bury a corpse. The
grave is surrounded with a fence, which at Kampong Piasau
and many other villages is decorated with wooden models of
the possessions of the deceased — fowls, buffaloes, spears,
guns and parangs^ or of other objects, such as snakes, tor-
toises, wild cattle and deer. Probably in bygone times.
Courtship, Marriage, Divorce, ^c. 125
when the Dusuns were not so well ofF as they are now, all
the personal belongings were deposited on the graves, as
are clothes at the present day. An offering of this kind to
the dead would not involve such sacrifices then as now, since
most of the articles in use before the Dusuns were able to
obtain brass-ware and other luxuries, and had few if any
cattle, would be easy to make at home.
With the growth of wealth and the increased desire of
acquiring it, it is likely that excuses would be made that
models were quite as acceptable to a spirit as the real
articles; since spirits, fortunately for those troubled by
them, are known to be notoriously stupid and easy to
deceive. It thus became customary to place on the grave
models of all the objects the deceased had used in life, and
of such animals as he was accustomed to eat.
The only case in which the actual objects themselves are
offered to the spirit, as mentioned above, is that of clothes,
which are usually inexpensive ; and, having been worn on
the body of the deceased, are probably supposed still to be
animated by a portion of his spirit, somewhat as pieces of
cloth from the shroud or garments of a saint are in Roman
Catholic countries supposed to retain part of his virtues and
to be capable of performing miraculous cures. The Dusuns,
moreover, owing to their belief that the spirits of the dead
only work mischief when they linger near the dwellings of
mortals, would hastily get rid of anything which they sus-
pected of having an intimate connection with a dead man's
ghost.
Before describing Dusun graves and methods of burial, it
may be as well to say a little about Mount Kinabalu, the
home of departed spirits. The Dusuns relate how the
ghosts of the dead on their way to their last home cross a
small river at the foot of Mount Kinabalu, and also leave
certain traces of their passage at a large rock on the way up.
This rock, which is said to be situated between Kinabalu
and Mount Nunkok, is called Pomintalan. Here the ghosts
126 Courtship, Marriage, Divorce, ^c.
place, the men a cigarette wrapper, the women some thread,
and the children some bits of dirty rags. The following
Httle legend tells of the passing of the ghosts over the
Koraput (or Uraput) : —
The Path of the Ghosts
Told by Sirinan of Kampong Piasau, Tempassuk District
There is a small river to the laut (seawards) of Kampong
Kaung named Koraput. There are large stones in the middle
of it, and the people say the ghosts stop there on their
way to Kinabalu. If the ghost of an old man is passing the
sound of his walking-stick is heard tapping on the stones, if
of a young bachelor the sound of his sendatang (a kind of
native banjo), if of a young unmarried woman the sound
of the toreding (a kind of wooden or bone jews' harp), and
if of a child the sound of weeping.
In consequence of the Dusuns' beliefs with regard to
Kinabalu, an ascent of the mountain is not to be undertaken
lightly. The spirits of the dead must be propitiated with
offerings and a gun fired to warn them of the approach of
human beings. Sompat, one of the headmen of Kiau,
usually performs the ceremony when a European wishes to
climb the mountain, and from him I obtained the following
details. The sacrifice to the spirits consists of seven eggs
and a couple of fowls, and there is a menghaji (religious
ceremony). It is said that when the ceremony is being
performed a spirit is often heard to cry out in answer.
On the way up the names of streams passed or of places
in the jungle may not be mentioned, nor may the mountain
be called by its usual name, but if it is necessary to refer to
it the Dusuns instead of Nabalu say Agayoh ngaran (big
name). If no ceremony were performed, it is thought the
party making the ascent would be unable to find their way
home. One European who undertook the climb refused to
fire a gun before starting, and the continual wet weather
Courtship, Marriage, Divorce, ^c. 127
which was met with was put down to this cause. Un-
fortunately I never had an opportunity of getting farther
than Kiau village, on the lower slopes of the mountain, where
I met old Sompat. Mr J. C. Moulton, curator of Sarawak
Museum, who has recently climbed the mountain, says that
two shots are also fired at the top, the gun being pointed
upwards, facing north {Sarawak Gazette^ November 1913).
The word Kinabalu, as Mr Moulton, I think rightly,
observes, is probably derived from Nabalu (the Dusun word
for the home of the dead), and does not mean " Chinese
Widow " (mountain), " China Balu or Kinabalu," as stated
in so many works on Borneo. There is a village in the
Tempassuk valley which seems to be called indifferently
Kinabalu or Penelabu, and probably this also has nothing to
do with China or the Chinese.
To turn now to methods of sepulture. All good Dusuns
wish to be buried in a jar; but a jar is expensive, and so the
bodies of poor people are buried in a rough wooden coffin or
wrapped up in mats. If the deceased is sufficiently well off
to afford a jar, the body is slipped into it legs first and
pushed, or even stamped, down till it does not protrude.
Some few years ago there was a bad epidemic of small-
pox in the Tuaran district, and the father of my Dusun
servant, Omboi, caught the disease and "died." Where-
upon his relatives, having obtained a jar of sufficient size,
slipped the body into it, intending to bury it immediately.
The neck of the jar was, however, rather narrow, and when
the mourners began to stamp the body home with the flat of
their feet, the "corpse" got up and objected to the process
in forcible language. The patient had merely been in a
state of coma, and he eventually recovered.
If the mouth of a jar is too narrow to admit the body, the
vessel is cut in two horizontally at its greatest circumfer-
ence, the body packed into the lower portion and the top
replaced and fastened down with some kind of resin. The
jars are not buried at any great depth and it is common, in
128 Courtship, Marriage, Divorce, ^c.
walking about near villages, to come upon an old graveyard
with many of the jar tops showing above the ground.
At Tuaran, after a period of years, old jars are dug up
and used again ; but at Tenghilan, not far from the boundary
of the Tuaran and Tempassuk districts, I was told that such
an act would be looked on with the greatest horror, and that
the desecrator of a grave would have been put to death in
the old days. As far as my experience goes, I believe that
in the Tempassuk the feeling about opening a grave would
be similar to that of the Tenghilan people.
Here we have a good example of the differences which
can often be found in small areas, and this may well serve as
a warning against making hasty generalisations, a thing which
is unfortunately only too common. It is obviously unsafe to
say that the Dusuns do such-and-such a thing on evidence
obtained from one or two villages, for it is always quite
possible that exactly the reverse may be the custom two or
three miles away.
But to return to the subject under review. Occasionally,
when the only jar obtainable is not quite big enough to
receive the corpse, the body is buried in a rough wooden
cofEn and the jar set upright at the head of the grave. I
observed an instance of this at Kampong Ghinambur. In
the graveyard of Piasau village I have also seen very small
jars set in the same position. Presumably these were the
graves of poor persons whose relations could not afford to
buy big jars, as the vessels did not seem to have been used
for holding food or water. I was, in fact, told that it was
not customary to make food-offerings at the grave in this
village, but at Tuaran I have been informed by natives that
it is the general usage. At Piasau the graves were sur-
rounded by a rectangular bamboo fence decorated with
wooden models, put there as offerings.
The graves themselves, which were marked by raised
mounds, were covered with a cbevaux de frise of sharp
bamboo points to prevent wild pigs from routing up the
Courtship, Marriage, Divorce, ^c. 129
body. Over the mounds were erected small wall-less huts
roofed with palm leaves, the eaves of which were sometimes
roughly carved, or in place of this a couple of umbrella-like
structures covered with European-made calico were set up.
Occasionally a wooden figure was placed under the hut, but
whether this represented the deceased, or was an offering, I
was unable to find out.
It is possible that if placed there with the latter intention
it may have represented a slave slaughtered in order that the
dead man might have company on his journey to the land of
shadows. This is only a suggestion, and I have never heard
of that special kind of sacrifice having been made among the
Dusuns in former times, though, according to Mr W. B.
Pryer, some of the inland tribes used to kill slaves (surmungup)
in order to send messages to dead relatives by their aid
(W. B. Pryer, J,A.L^ vol. xvi., p. 234), while various
writers bear testimony to the fact that among other tribes
slaves were frequently sacrificed on the death of a chief or
any important man (Ling Roth, vol. i., p. 157. Various
writers quoted).
Among the Dusuns, I believe, as among so many primitive
people, death is scarcely looked upon as a natural event, at
any rate in the case of the young.
CHAPTER XIV
MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS, MUSIC 6- DANCING
GONGS, those instruments so beloved by the Dusiins
and by all the native races of Borneo, have been
mentioned several times elsewhere; they are re-
garded as valuables, and have become a sort of currency.
A Dusun is almost as great a connoisseur in the matter of
gongs as a European collector is with regard to old china
or silver. Should he be of industrious and saving habits, his
money will be expended, if not in wife-buying, in the pur-
chase of either a gong or a buffalo; but either wives or
buiFaloes can be paid for in gongs, or in the case of the latter
vice versa.
When an expensive instrument is for sale, great is the
gathering of the cognoscenti \ it is tapped for flaws, its
workmanship examined and criticised, its age estimated, and
its tone tried by frequent beatings. An intending buyer
having been found, there comes a long haggle as to the
price to be paid, and when at last this has been agreed
upon, the purchaser carries oif his bargain in triumph to
show to his friends at home. Everybody being interested
in gongs, the native virtuoso has the advantage over his
European brother, for a Dusun returning home after having
'' picked up a bargain " is not met with the same blank faces
and inane remarks that so often greet the collector at home
when he displays his latest acquisition to the circle of his
friends and acquaintances.
New gongs are considered of comparatively little value ;
but old specimens of the tawag tawag — a gong with a deep
tone, a large and prominent boss, and a deep edge — or of
the chenang — a shallow gong with a boss almost on a level
130
Musical Instruments, Music &^ Dancing 131
with the face — are most sought after. The price of one of
these may run to as much as two hundred or three hundred
dollars, a variety of the chenang called the chenang kimanis
being especially prized. Besides the tawag tawag and the
chenang there are two other kinds of gongs which are com-
paratively cheap : one of these, the agong^ is a large shallow
gong with a fairly big boss ; the other, the tenukol^ has, iA
some cases, no boss at alL
Gongs are struck with a wooden mallet, which is padded
with raw rubber or cloth. The note of a gong struck with
an unpadded mallet is too hard, while treatment of this kind
tends to ruin the instrument by cracking it where the boss
joins the face, the metal here, which is usually rather thin,
having to take the full force of the blows.
Though Dusuns are capable of casting a few small articles
in brass, I do not think that they have ever attempted to
manufacture gongs. Those which are valued by them at
the present day seem to have been made in Brunei, Java
and perhaps China. The Dusuns, however, are not without
musical instruments of their own. The young bachelors
strum on the sendatang^ a kind of two-stringed banjo or
mandolin, which, with the exception of its face, is roughly
carved, belly, stem and all, out of a single block of soft
wood. The strings, made of some vegetable fibre, are in-
serted under a small piece of wood attached to the face or
sounding-board, and are tied at their other extremities to
a couple of keys, which pass through the stem. A sHght
bridge keeps the strings from contact with the face of the
instrument.
Bamboo flutes of two kinds are in common use : one of
these is played in the orthodox manner with the mouth,
the other with the nose, the end of it being placed against
one nostril, while the other nostril is stoppered with leaves,
rags or tobacco. Small jews' harps {toriding) are very
cleverly cut out of a single piece of palm wood or bamboo,
the tongue being usually weighted by two little pieces of
132 Musical Instruments, Music ^ Dancing
wax or wild rubber. The instrument is held before the
mouth and played by jerking a string attached to one end.
Another wind instrument which I have not yet mentioned is
the so-called Dusun organ (jempatari)^ which is made by the
natives of the interior.
Most of those seen in the hands of Tempassuk people
have been brought from up-country by natives when carry-
ing down tobacco to market, but, if I remember rightly,
they are sometimes made by the people of Kiau and a few
other Tempassuk villages.
The instrument consists of a long, straight-necked gourd
or calabash into which are fixed eight reeds, four shorter
in one row, and four longer, but of different heights, in
another, which together form a bundle of two rows with a
rectangular section. These are bound round with lashings
of thread and are fixed into the gourd with some black
waxy substance, I believe dirty beeswax. The neck of
the calabash forms the mouthpiece, and the notes are pro-
duced by blowing into this, while opening and closing
the free ends of the short reeds with the fingers of the
right hand, and working on two stops, one at the base of
each terminal long bamboo, with the left. Every reed has a
hole at the base above the level of the gourd, and a small
tongue of bamboo skin (?), which is partly responsible for
the production of the sounds, fixed into its lower end.
A peculiar instrument which is sometimes called a " harp "
is played by the women. It is made from a length of
bamboo, and the strings are formed by carefully cutting
thin, narrow, longitudinal strips from the outside of the
section all round, leaving them attached to the body of
the instrument at the ends. They are then keyed up by
pushing little pieces of wood under them at the ends till
each one will give the right note. Sometimes a round hole
is made in the body at one side, presumably with a view to
increasing the sound.
Another favourite instrument is a wooden dulcimer or
Musical Instruments, Music &^ Dancing 133
xylophone. By travellers in the hill districts the sound of
one of these instruments is frequently to be heard, coming,
as a rule, from some sulap (small hut) in which a family is
living in order to guard their padi crop from marauding beasts
and birds. Sets of small gongs (kulin-tangan)^ specially
made for the purpose, are played like a dulcimer, being
placed on two strings stretched across a long wooden frame.
I have only once seen a whistle in Borneo, and do not
know whether it is a truly native instrument or not. This
particular specimen, which is double, is cleverly made from
two small pieces of bamboo. I remember that I got it from
a native headman, who produced it when I visited his village,
and wanted to summon the owner, a small Dusun youth,
for blowing it under his (the headman's) house. I gave the
youngster a lecture on good behaviour and appropriated
the whistle.
Drums with bodies made out of sections of hollow tree-
trunks are common. The skin facings of these — they are
single-ended — are tightened by wedges driven in below the
rattan bindings which hold the facings fast to the wood.
At Tuaran I have seen a large cylindrical piece of wood,
about four feet long, hollowed out on the inside, and opening
to the outside by a comparatively narrow slit running almost
the whole length of the wood. The instrument when
struck with a sort of club gave out a fairly clear note. The
particular specimen that I saw was used for striking the
hours on an estate, but was, I suppose, of native manufacture.
An exactly similar instrument is made by the Malays of the
Peninsula, who call it kerantong.
As I have mentioned in another chapter, the general
season for rejoicing, feasting, the telling of folk-stories and
musical parties is after the harvest has been gathered in.
Judging by the number of instruments they make, and their
fondness for playing them, I should say that the Dusuns are
distinctly a musical people. Of course native music can
scarcely be judged by European standards, but some of the
134 Musical Instruments, Music &^ Dancing
tunes they play on the xylophones and on the so-called
" organs " are not at all unpleasant.
I do not remember that I was ever particularly struck by
their singing, and I never had time to take down any of their
songs, but Witti says that the inland Dusuns have " pretty
songs of their own." The chief thing that I can remember
about Dusun singing is that my boy used to give vent to
dismal-sounding love-songs in the servants' quarters about
a girl of whom he was enamoured, but who did not return
his affection. So thoroughly miserable did he succeed in
making himself that the tears used to course down his
cheeks and fall to the ground. Having suffered from the
youth for some months, I did not wonder that the lady
disliked him, and heartily sympathised with her.
Gongs and drums are used at all native dances, but except
for the religious kind performed by the women of Tuaran,
which are largely of a posturing nature, I can only remember
having seen a Dusun dance on one occasion. This was a
war-dance performed by a Tuaran youth, and in it, after
a good deal of preliminary posturing, he went in pantomime
through all the actions of a native engaged in warfare — the
spying of a foe from a distance, the stealthy creep through
bushes or tall grass, the gliding behind tree-trunks, the
sudden rush of a surprise attack, the rout of the enemy and
the swaggering bravado of the victors.
CHAPTER XV
WEALTH, CURRENCY, TRADING, MARKETS
THE Dusun's wealth, at any rate until fairly recent
times, consisted almost entirely of property, money
being only obtainable with the greatest difficulty ;
and, even at the present day, so deeply is this love of property
ingrained in him that probably not a very great deal of hard
cash would be found hoarded up in the villages, the Dusun
man's or woman's one idea being to turn his or her savings
into goods. This is perhaps scarcely a subject for wonder,
as an up-country native has remarkably little use for money,
unless it be to buy luxuries at the Chinese shops — a method
of dissipation to which, fortunately, he has not so far taken
very kindly.
The forms of property which chiefly find favour are old
brass gongs — concerning the age and tone of which the
Dusuns are great connoisseurs — other articles of old brass-
ware, such as the large betel boxes called chelapa^ buffaloes,
cattle, rolls of dark blue cloth to be purchased at the Chinese
shops, and in Tuaran and Papar the old Chinese jars which
are regarded as sacred and to which an annual sacrifice is
made.
In the old days brass cannon, krises and spears were also
regarded as desirable property, but, with the passing away
of the use for such things, they are not now so much sought
after, though the first still command a good price as old
brass. All these articles being particularly in request, and
trade being formerly entirely conducted by means of barter,
there arose gradually a sort of standard in values by which
the dearer articles were appraised as being worth so many of
those which were less expensive: a gong worth so many
135
136 Wealth, Currency, Trading, Markets
buiFaloes; a jar worth so many pikuls^ of brass (cannon);
a kris worth so many kayu (the usual term for a standard
roll) of cloth. In this way a sort of rough system of
currency was established, since all the articles mentioned
above were readily taken and received — ue, became a sort
of legal tender.
To obtain a wife a Dusun man has to hand over a certain
sum, termed a herian (a giving), to the girl's parents. At
the present time this is occasionally paid in money, but the
annexed example of a typical Tuaran herian demonstrates
clearly some of the articles which were formerly considered
valuable and passed as currency, this particular selection of
articles being the price of a wife. The inertia and conserva-
tism of ancient custom have preserved for us this record of
the value which used to be attached to articles which are
rapidly becoming obsolete.
A Tuaran '' Berian''
{A kind of gong which may be
worth anything up to $200
or more.
{A kind of gong which may be
worth anything up to $200
or so.
1 rantuka .... A small brass cannon.
2 kamuggi with two silver / The hamuggi is a ceremonial
cones on each \ necklace.
I spear
I kris
At the present day silver and paper dollars have become
fairly easy to obtain, but a great part of the trade of the
district is still carried on by barter, and though a native may
tell you that such-and-such an article on which he has set
his heart is worth so many dollars, he is probably himself
calculating its value in buffaloes and turning the result into
1 The pikul = 100 katties. The kattie is i J lb. English. I believe the
Sarawak Government still fines recalcitrant tribes so many pikuls of brass.
rhofo by] BUNS'JD, A LoWLAND DuSUN, [L. H. N. Evans
Headman of Tamboulian, Tempassuk District. The ornaments on the coat are silver buttons.
The Dusun " Organ " and Banjo.
These sweet-toned native organs (sempatan) consist of a gourd body and mouthpiece, and a number
of bamboo pipes. The fingers are moved on the tops of the pipes to produce the various notes.
Wealth, Currency, Trading, Markets 137
dollars for your benefit — for it is in buffaloes that he intends
to pay the purchase price — or, if he be well accustomed to
talking about dollars, he may think of the purchase price in
dollars and then reckon how many buffaloes will be equal to
them, always with the idea of paying in cattle and not in
cash. The price of buffaloes does not vary much from year
to year : a fully grown and trained buffalo bull is generally
reckoned as being worth about $25, a fully grown and
trained buffalo cow about $20, while half-grown animals are
priced more or less by the length of the horns measured in
spans. A weaned buffalo calf will fetch anything from $5
upwards.
This method of bartering buffaloes often gives great
trouble in civil cases. For instance, a man A sues B for
a buffalo calf or the price thereof, for which B is said to
be indebted to him. When the case comes into court it
looks as if it were going to be a fairly easy matter to
decide, until, after a little inquiry, it is found that it is
necessary to go back into buffalo dealings which have taken
place between the plaintiff and defendant during the last
couple of years or more. Probably something like this has
occurred : A buys a buffalo bull from B, which is priced at
$25; for this he pays on account a cow buffalo worth $15,
thus being still in debt to B for the sum of $10. After a
long time and much dunning on the part of B, A, not having
a buffalo of the exact value of $10, pays up with an animal
whose price is agreed at $15, thus putting B into A's debt
to the extent of $5. B promises to settle this debt with a
small calf as soon as one of his animals shall have calved.
Eventually B repudiates the debt and A takes out a
summons for the buffalo calf.
This is very likely by no means the end of the matter,
cases of this kind often have several side-issues. The ball
having once been started rolling, B's father-in-law turns up
and wants a summons, stating that the original buffalo which
was sold for $25 to A is his property, and that his son-in-law
138 Wealth, Currency, Trading, Markets
borrowed it when he saw an opportunity of doing good
business with A. He has repeatedly requested the payment
of buffaloes equivalent in value to the animal lent, but his
son-in-law has been undutiful enough to tell him that he
owes him nothing. He therefore asks for a summons.
To do the Dusuns justice, this kind of case is commoner
among the Bajaus, but still the same sort of thing does
sometimes occur among the Dusuns of the lowland villages.
Occasionally a buifalo-dealing transaction is settled straight
away, the difference in price between two animals being
made up with any small articles which the vendor may be
willing to accept. Thus X may buy an animal worth $25
from Y and pay for it with a buffalo worth |i8, a brass
betel-nut box worth $4 and a spear the price of which is
fixed at $3.
In connection with the Dusun love of property, mentioned
above, my old friend Lengok of Bengkahak — according to
native ideas a man of some wealth — in whom the bump of
acquisition was strongly developed, used to enrich himself
very considerably at the expense of his Bajau neighbours by
taking advantage of their improvidence.
This was his description of how he obtained the goods
with which his house was well stocked. " You see, Tuan,"
he said to me, "the Bajaus are a very lazy people, who
scarcely ever plant enough padi to last them through the
year: a few months after reaping, when they have eaten
up all their rice, some of them are sure to come to me and
ask me to lend them some padi till next harvest. I say:
' Very well, I will lend you some padi, if you will bring me
a nice piece of brass-work of some kind, and deposit it here
as security until you pay me back.' So they bring me some
brass which is worth a good deal more than the padi that I
give them. Of course they never pay me back, for the
next year they don't plant any more padi than they did in
the year they came to me to borrow, but Bajaus never
reckon on what will happen afterwards, so long as they can
Wealth, Currency, Trading, Markets 139
get what they want at the time, and, when their stomachs
are empty, they don't trouble themselves as to how they
are going to pay for the rice they borrow, nor do they re-
member when they are planting padi how hungry they were
in the year before, their only thought being what a trouble
it is to plant at all. So they go on from year to year."
Lengok had a contempt for the Bajaus which it was quite
refreshing to meet with in a Dusun, as the latter people are
generally peaceably inclined, while the Bajaus are, by train-
ing and instinct, plunderers and robbers, and in former times
oppressed the Dusuns very badly. Being lax Mohammedans,
they of course pretend to look down on the Dusuns, saying
that they are infidels, that their villages are unclean owing
to the pigs they keep, and that they are always drunk. All
this is said in the most irritatingly superior manner, and
must be extremely galling to the Dusuns. Many Europeans,
myself among them, get angry at hearing this sort of talk,
since the Dusun man is generally a very decent, hard-
working fellow, while the Bajau is almost invariably one of
the biggest " wasters " to be found anywhere.
Lengok's opinion of the Bajaus, as remarked previously,
was the reverse of complimentary. " Why," he said, " they
are always hungry, and they have got nothing worth having,
no pigs and no toddy ; they must lead a wretched life. A
Bajau dare not tap his coco-nut-trees to make toddy and get
drunk for fear of what the other people in his village would
say, for it is against the Mohammedan religion to drink intoxi-
cating liquors, so those who want toddy come and hang
round our villages and ask for drink, making out that they
are not feeling well, and that they want it as medicine."
But to return to the subject of trade. The Dusuns are
the chief collectors of jungle produce, which now consists
almost entirely of damar gum (salong), though small
quantities of rubber, beeswax and rattans are still brought
in. Some years ago wild rubber used to be obtained in
fairly large quantities; this has, however, been worked
140 Wealth, Currency, Trading, Markets
out to such an extent in the Tempassuk that very few
natives go into the jungle with the express purpose of
collecting it. The Chinese are the chief buyers of jungle
produce, and a great deal of trading in these commodities is
carried on at the local markets, about which I shall have
something to say presently.
Formerly, when affairs in the Tempassuk were in a very
disturbed condition, the Bajaus acted as middlemen between
the Dusuns and the Chinese, since the latter were frightened
to move far away from the coasts and Government protec-
tion; but peace having now been established for several
years, the Bajaus have gradually lost this lucrative form of
employment. Apart from damar, the only other native
product in which there is any considerable export trade
from the Tempassuk is tobacco, which is grown to some
extent on the valley slopes around Kiau, a village over-
looking the Tempassuk river, situated on the slopes of
Mount Kinabalu, and round many of the villages of the
interior.
The chief markets of the Tempassuk district are Tamu
(market) Timbang, held every Wednesday a couple of
miles or so down-stream from Kotabelud, the Government
post, and Tamu Darat {i.e. the up-country market), the site
of which is located some seven miles up-stream from the
same place. Tamu Darat is the more important of the two
markets, and is held once in every twenty days, but a
smaller market called Tamu Sesip (i.e. the market which is
slipped in between, since it takes place between the large
markets), which is held on the same ground on the tenth
day after Tamu Darat, often fairly bids to rival it. Tamu
Timbang is, however, coming more and more into favour,
since a native who brings jungle produce from up-country
can obtain slightly better prices there, and is enabled to
make a selection of any articles be may require at the
Kotabelud shops before returning home.
Among the natives a great part of the trade in the
Wealth, Currency, Trading, Markets 141
markets is, as elsewhere, carried on by barter, though small
articles are often paid for in money. The Chinese, too,
vastly prefer bartering goods with natives to paying cash,
as by this means they are enabled to obtain a double profit.
The scene in a large market like Tamu Darat is most
animated. The first arrivals on the ground are usually the
Chinese traders from the shops, and the Bajaus and Illanuns
from the coastal villages. Both Chinese and natives ride up
to market, the usual mounts being buffaloes, bulls, cows or
ponies. On arrival the Chinese busy themselves in arrang-
ing on their small palm-leaf-roofed stalls a choice assortment
of such articles as are likely to attract Dusun customers:
cloth, matches, beads, gambler, buttons, small tin lamps,
cheap tobacco-boxes, looking-glasses, knives and scissors,
cotton-thread, needles, kerosene oil, cooking-pots and an
assortment of various odds and ends, nearly all of which
are cheap, nasty, and made in Germany. The Bajaus and
Illanuns unload from their buffaloes sacks of small dried fish
which look like white-bait, shell-fish, fresh fish of various
kinds, packages containing native-made salt, native-woven
head-cloths, and cooking- and water-pots of reddish-coloured
clay, partly varnished over with damar gum.
The Chinese, Bajaus and Illanuns, being more sophisti-
cated than the Dusuns, need to be kept strictly in order to
prevent them from plundering or cheating the latter ; conse-
quently they are given one half the Tamu ground to them-
selves, and are separated from the Dusuns by a rope
stretched across the market until the signal to begin trading
is given by the native chief in charge, who hoists the
Government flag on the flag-staflF to declare the market open.
While the Chinese and the Bajaus have been making
their preparations, the Dusuns have been arriving ; those
from the villages near by come in first, but those from a
distance usually time themselves to arrive at a point about a
mile and a half on the up-stream side of the market ground
on the previous evening. Here they meet together and
142 Wealth, Currency, Trading, Markets
exchange news, discuss the prospects of the padi crop, plan
buiFalo-thieving expeditions and cook their evening meal.
The next morning they again cook and feed, and then come
leisurely down to market.
The weapons which nearly every man carries, usually a
native chopping-knife and a spear, are left outside the
market ground proper in charge of the policeman who
assists the native chief in preserving order.
On entering the Tamu each group of Dusuns, men,
women and children, goes to the spot assigned by custom to
their particular village. Near a fallen tree by the river you
will find the Tiong people from the Ulu Tuaran, who bring
with them the ornamental brass rings which Dusun women
wear on their rattan-cane girdles, and which they are adepts
in casting. Under each tree are the people of a different
village, some bringing tobacco in the large carrying baskets
known as bongwriy others with piles of native hats made of
split and woven bamboo or rattan, tastefully ornamented
with coloured patterns. Others, again, have brought great
loads of white or amber-coloured damar gum ; a few women
are arranging cooking-pots for sale, made of a coarse greyish-
looking clay mixed with sand ; and perhaps in the hands of
one of the up-country natives, who has brought down
tobacco, may be seen one of those curious and sweetly
toned Dusun " organs " (sempatan)^ made from a gourd fitted
with bamboo pipes.
When everyone is ready the signal to trade is given.
Dusuns staggering under big loads of damar make their
way across to the shops of the Chinese, where pandemonium
is let loose owing to the huxtering cries of rival stall-keepers,
each of whom tries to obtain the goodliest share of the
trade for himself. Bajaus and Illanuns rush across and
thrust their, often unwanted, wares upon up-country Dusuns,
nearly snatching any articles they require out of the vendors'
hands ; and all over the market arises a babel of tongues,
Dusun, Bajau, Chinese, Illanun and Malay. This animated
Wealth, Currency, Trading, Markets 143
scene, the smells of dried fish, hlachan (a paste composed
of small pounded shrimps — it only needs to be smelt once
to be remembered), tobacco and fruit, the bright-coloured
head-cloths, the brown limbs and bodies of Dusuns, the
shining river, and the graceful trees which shade the market,
make a visit to Tamu Darat a sight not easily forgotten.
The Chinese, fortunately for the Dusuns, are no longer
allowed to leave their stalls, as in former days a Chinaman
would rush out like a spider from its web and "collar"
some wretched Dusun who was weighed down under a
heavy load of jungle produce, drag him to his stall and
" buy " his goods before the Dusun had quite realised what
was happening. Now the Dusun picks his way down the
miniature street to the stall where he thinks he can obtain
the best value for his goods, regardless of the blandishments
of the store-keepers by whom he has already been cheated
once.
Occasionally the Dusun "gets one back" on the stall-
holder, as witness the wails proceeding from the Chinaman
in the corner stall who has just cut open a couple of large
balls of jungle rubber which he bought from a Dusun a
few minutes ago: these he now finds have nothing but
rubbish inside them. The Dusun gentleman who sold them
has meanwhile recollected that he has an important engage-
ment at home. Dusun tobacco, too, is often not above
suspicion. Strips of the cut and dried article are wound
into bundles about nine inches long by four or five inches
wide, a bundle of this kind being technically known as a
perut (stomach). In buying a basket of tobacco it is usual
for a purchaser to take several perut s of tobacco from below
as well as above and open them, as it is by no means an
uncommon trick for a Dusun to place good tobacco on the
top of his basket, while all the rolls below have a core of
rubbish and a mere wrapping of tobacco on the outside.
The chief in charge of the market now generally makes
a round of inspection among the tobacco sellers, with a view
144 Wealth, Currency, Trading, Markets
to detecting such swindlers; and this has had a salutary
effect, adulteration of tobacco having become comparatively
rare. A good deal of this native-grown tobacco finds its
way through the hands of Chinese or Malay middlemen to
Brunei, whence no doubt it is distributed to the adjoining
territories. Native tobacco is smoked in the form of a
cigarette, the wrapper being made from the leaf of the nipa
palm. Bundles of these wrappers, ready cut, can be bought
in all the markets, and are known as kiraL
In coming down to market the Dusuns still use the old-
time track, which chiefly follows the bed of the Tempassuk
river, and it is as a rule only in times of flood that they will
make use of the Government bridle-path to the interior,
which they consider much longer — I have tried both and
know which I think the best, the large, round and slippery
stones in the bed of the river making exceedingly unpleasant
going.
A fair amount of trading in buffaloes takes place at some
of the larger markets, but in order to put down buffalo
thieving as far as possible the bargain has to be completed
in the presence of a Government chief, and the animal must
be marked with his brand. Very often a Dusun who has
brought down a heavy load of jungle produce is enabled to
take home a buffalo, which he has obtained in exchange for
it from one of the Chinese stall-holders.
Before bringing this chapter to a close, perhaps a few
remarks may be made about the old beads which appear to
have passed as currency to a certain extent. All old beads
are considered valuable by the Dusuns, to whom age is quite
as much synonymous with beauty and value as to the veriest
virtuoso at home. Of course, in many cases, there is a
great deal to be said on the practical side for the Dusuns'
passion for old things ; for instance, modern gongs are much
inferior in workmanship and tone to those which the Dusuns
treasure.
Most of the old beads of paste, porcelain or glass which
A Market Scene in the Tempassuk District.
I The chief article on sale in this corner of the market is Indian corn, of which two or three
heaps of cobs can be seen. The market shown is held weekly.
Wealth, Currency, Trading, Markets 145
are seen in Borneo are, I should think, of Chinese origin,
and some of them are valued at from fifty cents to one dollar
each (is. 2d. to 2s. 4d.). The most interesting kinds of
beads to be met with are not, however, of these materials ;
they are called bongkas and appear to have been made by
cutting small discs out of some kind of fairly thick marine
shell, and piercing them with a drill. I have frequently
made inquiries to try and find out where these beads were
formerly obtained, but always without result, the Dusuns
saying that they did not know, as they had come down to
them from their ancestors. At present bongkas are reckoned
by the string, a string consisting of a loop long enough to
reach from the fork of the thumb to the point of the elbow.
In most parts of the Tempassuk four strings (sometimes
only three) of bongkas go to the dollar.
Bongkas beads are chiefly used for decorating the fringes
which are worn by women around the tops of their skirts,
or sometimes a broad band of this beadwork is seen on the
edges of the cowl-like hoods which they wear for field-work
(the same kind of cap is also worn in the Tempassuk on
ceremonial occasions). These beads are now becoming rare
in the Tempassuk owing to the tempting prices offered for
them by the Chinese shopkeepers, who, I understand,
dispatch them to Sarawak, where they obtain quite large
Sums for them from the wilder tribes. In fact so keen is
the demand that I have known a party of three Dyaks to
come to the Tempassuk specially to collect bongkas in order
to re-sell them in their native country. Shell-bracelets are
made to the present day by the Tempassuk Bajaus, but I
have never been able to hear that they made shell-beads,
which indeed are not found among them.
CHAPTER XVI
MANUFACTURES
THOUGH Dusun manufactures are well worth study-
ing, they do not come up to the high standard of
those of several of the other tribes of Borneo,
notably the Kayans. The production of certain articles,
such as cloth, is carried on in almost all villages, but in the
case of others there is a tendency, without any apparent
reason, for each village to have a speciality of its own.
For instance, Penelabu (or Kinalabu) makes a very neat
type of knife with a handle of pig-tusk, usually putting two
in a case; and Kaung in the Ulu Tempassuk a particular
kind of woman's hat, which I have never seen worn locally,
though it is traded to, and finds favour in, Tuaran. In
Tambatuan and in Pinasang, a village on the right bank of
the Tempassuk above Tamu Darat, they make a particular
kind of carrying-basket {bongun) ; at Tiong in the Ulu
Tuaran, brass rings for women's girdles, and so forth.
One of the first things which strikes a visitor to the
Tempassuk is the curious hat worn by both pagan and
Mohammedan natives. The makers of these hats are the
up-country Dusuns, who trade them with their lowland
brothers, and also with the Bajaus and Illanuns. The
materials employed in their manufacture are strips of natural
or dyed rattan and bamboo, while some types show exceed-
ingly skilful workmanship.
The types of hats made by the up-country Dusuns, and
146
Manufactures 147
worn by both men and women in the Tempassuk, are peculiar
and varied ; they are made in the up-country villages, and an
up-country Dusun will tell you at sight from which village a
particular hat comes, as there are slight local differences in
shape and also certain small marks in black and red rattan
woven in near the edge of the hat, which, to one who
knows, are sure guides to the place of its origin. There
is a large hat worn by women of the kind made at Kaung
and at Tamis in the Ulu Tuaran. These when sold at
Tuaran fetch as much as two dollars each, though locally
they can be bought a good deal cheaper. There is another
peculiar type of woman's hat made, and worn, only at the
village of Saiap, near Mount Kinabalu.
Two kinds of hat are worn indifferently by both men and
women, though hats are not so frequently used by the latter;
in the Tempassuk a cowl-like hood of native cloth protects
the head against the heat of the sun during work in the fields.
Another kind is made by the people of Bundu Tuhan, a
village of the Interior, just outside the Tempassuk boundary.
Occasionally conical hats may be seen, which are cut out of
a single block of light palm-wood, but they are distinctly
rare. Hats are much more commonly worn by the women
of the villages round Tuaran than by their up-country sisters
of the Tuaran river or those of the Tempassuk district.
Dusun cloth is woven on a very simple type of loom, a
specimen of which is well illustrated in Ling Roth's Natives
of Sarawak and British North Borneo (vol. ii., p. 30).
The apparatus has a belt attached to one end of it, and
when the other end has been tied to an upright of the
house the weaver adjusts the band round her waist and by
throwing her weight slightly backwards makes the loom
taut for weaving. Needless to say, the apparatus is without
frame of any kind, while the treadles, cloth-beam and warp-
beam are all of the very simplest description, and consist of
round wooden sticks of varying diameter pushed through
the warp. A wooden sword is used for beating up the
148 Manufactures
cloth, the shuttle being also made of wood and of simple
type.
The materials from which Dusun cloth is made are lamba^
the fibre of a species of wild banana, cotton, or thread made
from some kind of tree-bark. These may either be mixed
— e,g, a cloth may have a warp of lamha and a woof of
cotton or bark-thread — or used singly.
When finished, the cloth is dyed with native indigo and is
then ready for making up into the skirts, hoods or trousers
for which it is chiefly intended. There is a slight tendency
for native cloth — and European cotton thread for weaving
is coming into use to a certain extent — to be displaced by
European goods, but it still is much in favour owing to its
splendid wearing qualities. Cloth is not woven in the
villages around Tuaran, but cloth-weaving is general in the
Dusun villages of the Tempassuk, and also, I believe, in
the upland villages of the Tuaran district. Some very fine
cloths are made by the Rongus Dusuns who live outside the
Tempassuk district in the direction of Kudat; these have
elaborate patterns in white on a black background and are
sometimes further ornamented by the insertion of a few
strands of red thread.
Pottery is made in many villages, the only type of vessel
I have ever seen being a rather squat, wide-mouthed pot with
a rounded bottom, which can be used either as a water-jug
or for cooking purposes. The pots are made of a mixture
of clay and sand, and when fired are of a greyish colour.
Most Dusun villages have a blacksmith, who, if not capable
of turning out fighting weapons, is at least able to make very
effective blades for working-knives, especially for the large
chopping-knives called parangs. These knives are kept in a
state of almost razor-like sharpness, and every native wears
one by his side. The blades are so forged that they do not
last for a great number of years, as only the actual cutting
edge is of steel, the back and sides being of soft iron. The
method of manufacture is to weld a narrow strip of steel
Manufactures 149
between two broad pieces of iron, the steel being so placed
between the edges of the latter that the greater part of it
projects beyond them. Thus the steel cutting edge, which
the natives constantly rub down on sharpening stones, is
finally worn away, and only the iron remains, when the parang
cannot be used any longer.
Reaping-knives, toddy-knives for slicing across the flower-
ing shoot of the coco-nut palm, knives for splitting rattan
and small cased knives for general purposes are other pro-
ducts of the Dusun blacksmith's forge, but in a few villages
he has higher aspirations than the mere manufacture of work-
aday tools. Most excellent fighting parangs with beautifully
carved handles of stag's horn are turned out by the smiths
of Kiau, the art of making them having originally been learnt
from a Dyak settler. The blades of these parangs^ which
are locally known as gayang, resemble in shape the Dyak
parang Hang ; but both faces of the blade are alike, and are
not, as in the case of the parang ilang^ respectively convex
and concave. Weapons of similar type, but usually of some-
what inferior workmanship, are made in several other up-
country villages, chiefly outside the Tempassuk district. In
the case of the ordinary working-knife, a Dusun can gener-
ally tell you at sight whence it comes, as each village turns
out a slightly different type of blade to that of its neigh-
bours ; and I believe that gayang can also be ascribed to the
village where they are made owing to slight differences in the
engraved scroll-work on the faces of the blade near the back.
Very creditable spears are made in several villages, Kiau
again probably turning out the best. The blades are pro-
tected from wet by a sheath made from two pieces of wood
fastened together and bound with strips of rattan cane.
The small sheath-knives mentioned above have handles of
wood or natural boar's tusk, and the sheaths, like those
of fighting weapons, are made of two pieces of wood fitted
to the blade and fastened together with bindings of natural
or coloured rattan cane.
150 Manufactures
One of the arts at which the Dusuns are adepts is the
making of baskets ; some of these are of true basket-work,
made from strips of rattan or bamboo ; others are formed
from the red skins of leaf stalks of the sago palm pressed
out and sewn together. The carrying-basket is one of the
most important of the Dusun's possessions ; he takes it with
him to his garden and brings home a heavy load of kaladi
roots or padi, and in it he brings down to market the damar
gum which he has collected in the jungle, or the tobacco
which he has grown to sell.
Two types of large back-basket are in common use in the
Tempassuk, each kind being, as a rule, fitted with a board
some foot and a half wide running from top to bottom along
one side, and with three loop-straps of tree-bark. The
board rests on the carrier's back; and of the straps, one
is worn around the forehead or over the top of the head
towards the front, while the other two go over the shoulders.
Both types of basket are somewhat in the shape of a
truncated cone and are carried apex downwards. One of
them, a most excellent kind, is chiefly manufactured at
Tambatuan and in a village above Tamu Darat — if I remem-
ber rightly, the village is Pinasang. This basket, which
goes by the name of bongun^ has a body made from sago-
palm-leaf stalks, which are bound with a wooden or tree-
bark rim at top and base, the actual bottom being of wood.
It is further fitted with a wooden cover consisting of a round
top with a rim made out of a strip of tree-bark. These
baskets are splendid for holding personal belongings when
on the march, since they are cheap, light and strong, are
absolutely rain-proof and are built for the very purpose for
which they are required.
The other type, called basong^ is similar to the bongun^
with the exception that it has a much broader mouth and
no cover. The basong is chiefly used for carrying jungle
and agricultural produce. When a native is travelling light
he generally uses another and smaller type of basket fitted
Manufactures 151
only with shoulder-straps. This kind of basket, which is
called a bariet, stands about two and a half feet high, has a
circular mouth with a wooden cover and a rectangular base
with an edging of wood : the material of which it is con-
structed is rattan cane. A bariet will hold sufficient articles
for a native who is going for a few days' journey — a change
of clothes, a betel-box, some sireh leaves, a little rice, some
dried fish and possibly a bundle of charms to protect him
from the hidden dangers which lurk in the forest.
Brass-casting on a small scale is carried on in at least one
village in the Ulu Tuaran, the chief articles made being the
small brass rings and cylinders which are threaded on women's
rattan girdles. I have never had an opportunity of seeing
the casting carried out, but newly cast rings are frequently
on sale in Tamu Darat, to which market they are brought
down by Tiong or Tamis men. The metal for them is
obtained by melting down old betel-boxes or gongs.
I have dealt in another chapter with the making of such
articles as fish-traps and also with the subject of house-
building and the manufacture of various domestic utensils.
CHAPTER XVII
RELIGION &- SUPERSTITIONS
THE Dusuns are by religion animists — that is to say,
they believe that all objects, whether animate or
inanimate, have, or at any rate may have, an in-
dwelling spirit in them. Stretches of jungle, deep pools,
mounds whose shape is out of the ordinary, points jutting
out into the river, trees of peculiar growth, especially the
species of Ficus which is called kayu ara by the Malays,
are all thought to be the abode of spirits. To propitiate
these and to ward off by means of offering or otherwise the
evil spirits which cause sickness and disease is one of the
chief objects of Dusun ceremonial observances.
In addition to the propitiation of spirits, there are many
omen-animals to whom attention is paid ; some of these, if
met, betoken good luck, but woe betide the man who sees
an animal of evil omen and disregards its warning ! he will
be killed by a tree falling on him in the jungle, or a croco-
dile will seize him .as he crosses a river; his padi crop will
fail, or will be destroyed by rats and monkeys, or his wife
or children will sicken and pine away.
Apart from the belief in spirits, most of whom are evilly
disposed to man, the Dusun has a somewhat hazy belief in
a Supreme Deity called Kenharingan, who, with his wife
Munsumundok, created the world and everything in it.^
Both the Creator and the Creatrix are beneficent, though
they are to the Dusun mind too far away to take much
interest in human affairs, but they have a son, Tawardakan,
who is by no means well disposed towards humanity. One
Dusun legend tells how when Kenharingan created men he
1 The story of the creation will be found in the following chapter.
152
Religion &^ Superstitions 153
made them all equal ; there were no rich and no poor, and
everyone was happy. Tawardakan, however, who was of
a jealous and discontented disposition, disliked seeing man-
kind in this easy condition, and brought it about that some
men should become rich and others poor, which unfortunate
state of aifairs persists until the present day.
In addition to the beliefs mentioned above, in the valleys
of both the Tuaran and Tempassuk observances in connec-
tion with head-hunting and the propitiation of the trophies
of skulls are still carried on to a small extent, though
of course actual head-taking has been stopped for some
years past. At Tuaran also we find the various customs
connected with the cult of sacred jars, one kind to which
reverence is paid being called the Gust,
The Dusun's conduct, needless to say, is largely regulated
by his belief in spirits and omens, and, in addition to the
influence exercised by these, he is further hampered by the
prohibitions and tabus which restrain his actions in many of
his daily occupations. There are war tabus and birth tabus,
house tabus and tabus for the padi-field, tabus to be ob-
served in speaking and tabu days when no work must be
done. But we must go into the Dusun beliefs in detail.
One of the first things that strikes an observer on seeing
Dusun religious ceremonies is the great part played by the
women. They are the chief performers in all the more
important religious rites — the men only undertaking the
office of musicians, to accompany the women's chants — and
are, in fact, priestesses, or at least such of them as have
undergone the requisite traming. They are said, and this
would form an interesting subject for further investigation,
to conduct their ceremonies in a tongue unknown to the
men, learnt during their period of instruction, which at
Tuaran extends over some three months and costs the novice
a considerable fee, at the present day generally paid in hard
cash.
In the Tempassuk, and probably in the valley of the
154 Religion &^ Superstitions
Tuaran as well, though I do not know this for certain, each
village has its own presiding deity or genius, who is known
as the Kenharingan Tumanah^ the second word being, I
think, of the same derivation as the Malay word tanah^
earth, or soil. Perhaps this statement is a little too positive.
I make it owing to the phrase, " I am your Kenharingan
Tumanah^"^ frequently occurring in folk-stories. It is possible
from what I have learnt since writing the above that the
Kenharingan Tumanah may be nothing more than the Earth
Spirit (Hantu Tanah') of the Malays. There are Dusun
legends of men of old having encountered their Kenharingan
Tumanah under various guises. In swearing to speak the
truth as witnesses in court Dusuns at the present day recite
an oath which runs somewhat as follows : — " I swear by
Kenharingan above and by the earth-god that I will speak
the truth. If I do not do so, may a crocodile seize me as
I cross a river, may my padi wither, or a tree fall on me in
the jungle." A Dusun on changing his place of residence
will generally sacrifice in his new home to appease the local
spirits, and I remember meeting some Dusun coolies who
were going up-country to work on the bridle-path and were
taking fowls with them to sacrifice — possibly to the Ken-
haringan Tumanah ; but according to Dusun ideas the whole
world is full of spirits, most of whom are malignant. Doubt-
less the birds would be eaten afterwards, but the spirits
would have been called upon to drink the blood first, and so
might be considered appeased.
Not only do people going to live in a new place have to
make offerings to propitiate the spirits of the soil, but
natives of a village returning home after a stay in another
district require to undergo a sort of " reHgious disinfection "
in order that any evil influences they have brought back
with them may be dissipated, this work being done by some
of the women shamans. One of these performances occurred
while I was stopping in Kampong Tambatuan. Similarly an
ex-policeman who had returned to Tuaran, and was reported
Religion &^ Superstitions 155
to have taken a head somewhere or other, had to have a
ceremony performed over him to prevent the spirit of the
dead man causing him trouble.
The rehgious rites performed by the women priestesses
are denominated by natives, when speaking Malay, by the
general term mengbaji, a word apparently derived from the
Mohammedans, as a haji is a man who has performed
the pilgrimage to Mecca (Malay: naik baji= to go on a pil-
grimage). The word means to recite or read out or learn
anything connected with religion (e.g. menghaji Koran = to
learn to recite from the Koran). It is, as far as I know,
only used by Dusuns when speaking Malay. The word
used by up-country Dusuns of the Tempassuk, which means
to perform a religious ceremony, is memurinait. There are,
of course, menghajis for many different purposes, the most
important being that connected with the annual expulsion of
evil spirits from the village. This ceremony, which at Tuaran
is called mohog^ is carried out by a procession of initiated
women, who go the round of all the houses in the village,
attended by men who act as drum- and gong-beaters. The
celebrants stop here and there, while oiFerings are made and
posturing dances performed in time to the chants of the
women and the musical accompaniment of the men. When
the circuit of the village has been accomplished the proces-
sion wends its way to the river-bank, where a raft laden
with such things as evil spirits may be thought to delight in
— food, models of men and women, buffaloes, deer and other
animals — is moored in readiness. The spirits, who are
supposed to have followed the procession to feed on the
offerings — at Tuaran they are attracted by the squeals of a
sucking pig which the women beat with little wands —
pleased at the abundance of gifts before them, crowd on
to the raft, which is then pushed off into mid-stream and
carried away by the current. Needless to say that if the
raft comes to shore anywhere near the village it is launched
again as quickly as possible. The raft-builders do not seem
156 Religion &^ Superstitions
to worry if it goes aground near some village farther down-
stream; they have got rid of their objectionable "hangers-
on," and that is all they care about.
Other menghajis are performed at Tuaran, the most im-
portant of which are the the menghaji for rain, called
menawar (Malay : tawar or menawar — Xo neutralise ?), when
oiferings of rice and eggs are thrown into the river as a
sacrifice to the water spirits; the menghaji after harvest,
called menomboiy when offerings of rice are said to be placed
on large stones ; the menghaji of the young rice, masalud^ at
which a cock is sacrificed among the growing crops, a rough
image of the bird made with its feathers set up on the spot,
and water thrown over the rice, probably with the object of
ensuring sufficient rain ; and the menghaji of the sacred Gusi
jars, mengahau,
A Gusi is a large jar of ancient Chinese porcelain. It is
usually greeny-brown in colour, and, as far as I remember,
a fairly large specimen would stand about three and a half
feet high. At Tuaran, where these jars are venerated —
they are not found at the present time to any extent in the
Tempassuk, nor, I believe, in the up-country villages of the
Tuaran district — the Gusis are kept in a railed-off" enclosure
in an inner room. According to native ideas each jar has
an indwelling spirit, which if not propitiated by an annual
sacrifice of a buffalo, will bring misfortune upon the heads
of its owners. Usually ajar is not owned by an individual,
but by the members of a family, each of whom is entitled
to its use for any religious rites they may wish to perform.
At one time there used to be a great deal of litigation
with regard to the ownership of Gusis, but at length
this became so troublesome that a proclamation was issued
which forbade a case with regard to the ownership of a
sacred jar to come to court, but at the same time stipulated
that anyone who had contributed a share of the purchase
money was entitled to free access to and use of the Gusi
whenever it might be required. Recourse may be had to
Religion &^ Superstitions 157
the law to enforce the rights of waris. According to
native estimates, the Tuaran people are extremely well
off, and from 2000 to 3000 dollars ($i = 2S. 4d.) is by
no means an out-of-the-way price to pay for a single
specimen.
The Tempassuk Dusuns, as my friend Sirinan of Kam-
pong Piasau told me, take a very prosaic and business-like
view of the worship of sacred jars. When I was talking
the matter over with him and asking him if there were
Gusis in any of the down-country villages, he replied : " Oh
no ! there are none left now ; we used to have some, but
Brunei traders came along and offered us high prices for
them, as they could sell them profitably at Tuaran and
Papar, where they are very highly valued ; so we reflected
that it was better to have the cash than keep jars which
were the habitations of evilly disposed spirits, who required
expensive sacrifices to keep them in a good temper, and we
sold them off."
I am inclined to think that there is a good deal of
snobbishness behind the sacred-jar cult, as a family who
can afford to buy a Gust and offer the annual sacrifices is
rather inclined to put on airs about its possession. An
incident in connection with a Gust illustrates rather well the
natives' tolerance, if not reverence, for mad people. There
used to be an old madman at Tuaran who was constantly
stealing small articles from people's houses and making him-
self a general nuisance. One day he took it into his head to
carry off the family Gusi — I am not sure it was not someone
else's family G«j/; anyway he tied a rope round its neck,
threw the jar into the river and attached the other end of
the cord to a tree which overhung the water. The owners
of the jar, having found out that he had taken it, made him
disclose the place where it was hidden, but when they had
got it back in safety they neither punished him nor took
any steps to prevent his doing further mischief. This story
was told me by Mr H. W. L. Bunbury, who at the time was
158 Religion &^ Superstitions
District Officer, North Keppel. I knew the old man myself,
and he once sold me a shield which I afterwards found out
he had '' lifted " from a neighbour.
Before leaving the subject of rehgious ceremonies I ought
to say a word or two about the special dress which is worn
by women at the Tuaran mengbajis, and also about certain
instruments which are used in all religious rites. The dress
of a Tuaran priestess consists of a short, tight-fitting jacket of
blue or black Chinese cloth, and a ceremonial skirt of a kind
of old cloth of variegated colours. The latter is said to have
come originally from Brunei, and specimens are at the present
time valued at about a hundred dollars each. The jacket is
swathed with a long scarf of somewhat similar design and
colour to that of the skirt, which is wound diagonally across
the body. The scarves, which are also old, are called
cbandei, and cost somewhere about thirty dollars a-piece.
The front of the jacket over the scarf is decorated with
a number of strings of old beads, each loop having two
cone-shaped silver ornaments plugged with wood strung
upon it. The cones are so arranged that they hang in pairs
with their points directed downwards to form a sloping
series on each side of the body. The whole ornament is
called a ka/nuggiy and the points of each pair of cones are
as a rule connected by a chain of snake-scale links. Long
bugle-shaped beads of cornefian are frequently threaded on
the more expensive kamiiggi and on the okob^ another kind
of ceremonial necklace, which has a roughly crescent-shaped
ornament of embossed silver on a copper background in
front, and a number of small plates of similar materials
depending from it at intervals.
The hair, which is piled up into a mass on the top of the
head, rather towards the back, has a row of four bamboo
pins stuck into it running from back to front. The heads
of these are ornamented with shuttle-cock-like bunches of
feathers, generally those of the peacock pheasant or domestic
fowl, while two of the bunches, those at the front and back
Religion &^ Superstitions 159
of the head, are decorated with hanging strings of green
beetle-wings or bits of tin-foil.
In all religious ceremonies the Tuaran priestess carries
in her hand a peculiar rattle, called tetubit, which consists
essentially of two discs of metal perforated at the edge and
joined together by a string that is attached to a handle made
from a single section of the carapace of a fresh-water turtle.
Slightly varying forms are used for different ceremonies.
With this instrument a clanking accompaniment is kept up
during the chants and dances.
In the Tempassuk the gunding^ an instrument which
corresponds to the tetubit^ and is there usually made of
several small rectangular sheets of brass, with some bunches
of charms tied to the end of a short stick, is regarded with
great veneration, one native even going so far as to call it
the Dusuns' Koran. It is kept in a bamboo receptacle which
is hung up against the wall of the house near the door in
order that it may scare away any evil spirits who may wish
to effect an entry. No man may handle it, and only those
women who have been initiated as priestesses. In the
Tempassuk the menghaji dress is much the same as that
of every day, except that the curious cowl-like hood of native
cloth which the women sometimes put on for field-work is
always worn, and clothes used for religious ceremonies are
sometimes profusely decorated with old shell beads. In
addition to the jacket, skirt and hood, a long cape is
sometimes worn.
To turn now to head-hunting in its reHgious aspects.
Apart from the sporting side of the pursuit, where the
heads are considered merely as trophies and signs of the
prowess of the warrior, there is to a certain extent an
undercurrent of meaning. According to the old custom of
many countries, the killing of a human victim was considered
necessary to ensure the success of the crops, and at the
erection of a new house a head was buried under the central
post in order to pacify the outraged genii of the soil, who
i6o Religion &P Superstitions
had been disturbed by the operations of the house-builders.
Sir Charles Brooke, in speaking of the Dyaks, says that
feasts in general are " to make their rice grow well, to
cause the forest to abound with live animals, to enable their
dogs and snares to be successful in securing game, to have
the streams swarm with fish, to give health and activity to
the people themselves, and to ensure fertility to their
women. All these blessings, the possessing and feasting
of a fresh head are supposed to be the most efficient means
of securing."
It is easy to understand how a people with such beliefs as
these would become attached to the custom of head-hunting,
quite apart from any ideas of prowess or sport.
I do not think that the low-country Dusuns of the
Tempassuk have been addicted to the practice within recent
times, and I have never seen any skulls hung up in their
villages, but in the up-country head-hunting is still remem-
bered, and old heads are to a certain extent venerated.
Head-hunting was never so popular among the Dusuns as
among the Kenyah Kayans of Sarawak and the Muruts,
since they are essentially a peaceable race of cultivators, who
have always been the oppressed rather than the oppressors,
their wives and children in former days being frequently
seized and sold into slavery by bands of raiding Bajaus and
Illanuns from the coast. Still, a certain amount of head-
hunting did go on between village and village, and occasion-
ally a Chinaman paid the penalty for his temerity in following
the pursuit of gain too far up-country.
It is now very difficult to collect information with regard
to head-hunting, especially if you are a Government officer
and start asking questions in villages where the people do
not know you very well. Most of the small amount of
information I was able to get was gathered from Yompo, a
young Dusun of Kiau with whom I was very well acquainted.
After the return of a party from a successful head-hunting
expedition all the participants are regarded as unclean until
Religion &^ Superstitions i6i
they have undergone a purificatory ceremony — in this some
of the older women officiate, and ceremonial bathing forms
a part.
There was one small recrudescence of head-hunting shortly
before I went to the Tempassuk, the murderers — two young
Dusuns of Wasai in the Ulu Tuaran — being executed at
Jesselton shortly after I first took up my residence in the
district. They, apparently being wishful of distinguishing
themselves, went and hung about the jungle near Kiau
village, with which Wasai in the old days had been at feud,
and seeing a woman working alone in one of the gardens,
killed her. They were about to take the head, when, think-
ing that they heard someone coming, they ran away and
made for Wasai as fast as they could. After a long time
sufficient evidence was obtained to bring the two offenders
to trial, and they were in due course convicted.
Three mementoes of the affair came into the hands of Mr
H. W. L. Bunbury, then District Officer, North Keppel —
namely, two little wooden models of a human head and a
hat, which was of an ordinary Dusun conical type, except
that its top was decorated with a short wooden pillar to
the apex of which was tied a bunch of cock's tail-feathers.
According to Yompo, these wooden models, which he said
were called tenumpok^ represented the head which the men
were unable to obtain, two models being made in order that
each man might have a memento of the exploit. He further
told me that a freshly taken head was put on a stone set in
the ground.
With regard to head-hunting customs at Tuaran I was
informed by Adu, a middle-aged Dusun of that place, that
the ceremonies performed on the return from a successful
raid were called domali. At Tuaran, where many of the
dwellings are communal houses, the skulls are hung up in
the common verandah and are decorated with bunches of
the long dried leaves of a plant called silad. In one case I
was lucky enough to see a portion of a ceremony connected
i62 Religion &^ Superstitions
with head-hunting at this place. It appears that a poHce-
man, a native of Tuaran, who had been serving away from
home had taken a head, probably in some small skirmish
with a rebellious tribe, and had returned home on leave.
Thereupon it was determined that a ceremony must be per-
formed and a buffalo killed, partly in order to celebrate the
event and partly in order that the spirit of the deceased
might be pacified, so that the head-taker might suffer no
evil consequences.
The portion of the ceremonies that I witnessed was a
procession of seven or eight men walking in single file near
a village, while they kept up a continual cry which had a
peculiar whistling sound. Each man was wearing one of the
brass-hiked swords known as pedang (see Chapter XIX.),
but this was sheathed in a scabbard about four feet long,
which broadened out to a width of six inches at its farther
end. The lower edges of the scabbard were profusely
decorated with human hair and its outer face with carved
patterns, the whole weapon being called a tenujiipasuan.
The leader of the party carried a conch-shell trumpet, on
which he blew occasional blasts, and all wore attached to
their belts large bunches of silad leaves. One man had
a human vertebra to which was tied a triangular plaited
ornament of the same kind of leaves.
It is now unusual to see Dusuns with much tattooing on
their bodies, as this was usually connected with head-
hunting, but I have been informed that Tempassuk Dusuns
who had participated in a successful head-hunting expedi-
tion used to tattoo their bodies with two bands of patterns
running from the shoulders to the hips, though I have never
seen a man so decorated. Sir Spencer St John corroborates
the information given to me, as he says that he saw men
with "a tattooed band two inches broad, stretched in an
arc from each shoulder, meeting on their stomachs, then
turning off to their hips ; and some of them had a tattooed
band extending from the shoulder to the hand." Accord-
Religion &^ Superstitions 163
ing to Mr Whitehead, "some of the men are slightly-
tattooed with a few parallel lines on the forearm."
Connected with war and head-hunting are certain tabus
to be observed by the women left at home while their
men-folk are away on an expedition. Probably my small
collection of these is by no means complete, as other tribes
have also tabus which the warriors must keep when on the
war-path ; however, I give below such as I obtained :
War Tabus —
1. When the men are on the war-path the women must
not weave cloth or their husbands will be unable tp escape
from the enemy, because they will become uncertain in
which direction to run. In the weaving of cloth the back-
ward and forward movements of the shuttle represent the
uncertain movements of a man running first to one side
and then to another in order to escape from an enemy.
2. Women may not eat from the winnowing basket, for
the edges of it represent mountains, over which their men
would not be able to climb.
3. The women must not sit sprawling about or with their
legs crossed, else their husbands will not have strength for
anything.
On the other hand :
4. It is lucky for the women to keep walking about, for
then the men will have strength to walk far.
In addition to war tabus there are many others which
regulate conduct on special or general occasions — for
example :
1. If a person dies in a newly built village within six
months of its completion it must be abandoned and another
site chosen.
2. Nobody but the owners may enter a new house before
a religious ceremony has been performed over it.
164 Religion &* Superstitions
3. No one must hold or wear anything white, yellow or
red where a religious ceremony is in progress.
4. Nothing white, yellow or red must be brought into a
house where women are dyeing cloth.
Taking into account the Dusun's fear of evil spirits and
the trouble which he takes to propitiate them, it is only
natural that he should set great store by all kinds of objects
which he considers useful as talismans. Charm-belts are
very generally worn, and are made either of string network
or of cloth, each talisman being netted or sewn into a
separate compartment. Any object out of the common
which a native finds is considered to have a magical value,
and I have seen fossil shells, so-called bezoar stones, quartz
crystals, rhinoceros' teeth and pieces of wood used for this
purpose. The pieces of wood used as talismans are usually
tied up into little bundles and are probably the fossil (?)
wood which Burbidge calls kayu lagundi (tree of youth) in
Gardens of the Sun^ p. 256. These charm-belts are always
put on when a native leaves his house. Small brass bells
are frequently worn by children: these are regarded as a
protection against spirits, and possibly the little bells attached
to the tops of Dusun women's skirts may also serve the same
purpose.
To turn now to the subject of sacred trees. In the Tem-
passuk a certain tree, called the limpada^ is much venerated
and feared by the Dusuns : it is by no means uncommon,
grows to a fair height, has large leaves and a long, smooth-
skinned, red fruit, which is of oval shape and about a foot
long. According to Dusun legendry, Kenharingan has put
a curse upon anyone who shall violate a tree of this species,
the punishment being that the offender shall die of incurable
ulcers. When, however, one of these trees is found grow-
ing on a piece of ground which is required for a clearing it
may be felled, but not until a religious ceremony has been
performed.
I remember that once when walking along the bridle-
Religion &^ Superstitions 165
path which leads to the Interior, with Lengok of Bengkahak
and Gumpus the headman of Tambatuan, I turned to the
latter, who was wearing a sword (gctyct^g), and told him to
cut away one or two branches of undergrowth which were
overhanging the path. He replied that he was afraid that
he would blunt his weapon, but as he had been using it
pretty freely all the way along for a similar purpose I did
not quite see the force of his remarks; however, I said
nothing more about the matter, as the branches did not really
block the road. When we arrived at our destination,
which, if I remember rightly, was Gumpus's own village,
Lengok, who was alone with me, said: "Tuan, do you
remember that when we were coming along the path you
told Gumpus to cut some branches and he said he was
afraid of blunting his sword ? " " Yes," I said, " I remember
it ; but what about it ? " *' Well, that was not the reason
he would not cut the branches," said Lengok ; " it was
because it was a young limpada-tree you wanted him to chop
down."
Another tree which is regarded by the Dusuns with
some reverence is the banyan, and according to the people of
Tuaran a tree of this kind is the dwelling-place of a spirit
who keeps a large number of Gust jrts among its branches.
Natives who have gone into the jungle are said to have seen
these jars arranged in rows under a banyan-tree, which they
have come upon suddenly ; but on taking a -second look the
jars have vanished, for the spirit has seized them up again
into the tree.
Trees on rivers, especially those near river mouths, are
frequently hung with shreds of cloth as propitiatory offerings
to the water spirits, one special tree being generally set
aside for the purpose. Another matter which plays a very
important part in the everyday affairs of the Dusuns is the
belief in omens. Omens may be either good or bad, but
most of those to which the Dusuns pay attention seem
to belong to the latter class. A flying swarm of bees is
1 66 Religion &^ Superstitions
considered a bad omen, and to hear the kijang (called pans by
the Dusuns) or muntjac (Cervulus muntjac) bark when on a
journey is considered such a bad sign that a native will
either stop for the night at once or else go straight back
home. The large millipede (Julus sp.) may be either a
good or a bad omen if met with on a journey: if it is going
in the same direction as the traveller it is a good portent,
but if it is proceeding in the opposite direction, or crossing
the path, some piece of bad luck is sure to happen to anyone
who persists in continuing on his way. I remember being
much amused, when we met a millipede which was walking
across the path, at watching old Lengok trying to coax it
into going in the same direction as ourselves.
In addition to the fact that the Dusuns pay great heed to
omens when working in the fields or on journeys, they have
a peculiar monthly calendar of good and bad days which
regulates their work in the padi-fields. On bad days no
work must be done among the rice, or perhaps work may be
done in the hill-rice fields but not among the swamp-rice.
The month consists of two periods of lucky days, and two
of unlucky, the last day of each of the good periods being
called kopopusan (finished). With regard to the good days,
ka-in-duoh^ ka-in-teloh^ etc., these are merely the Dusun
ordinal numbers, 2nd, 3rd, etc. I have to thank Father
Duxneuney of Putatan, British North Borneo, for eluci-
dating a difiiculty I had in connection with the meaning of
these words.
The disease which the Dusuns most greatly fear, and not
without good reason, is small-pox. Consequently resort is
had to magic in order to keep this dread foe at bay. When
news is brought that a neighbouring village has become in-
fected, wooden models of spears and men are made and set
up on the side of the village facing the source of infection.
The idea is that protecting spirits are called up into the
models by a religious ceremony which is performed, and
that these fight with the spirits of small-pox.
Religion &^ Superstitions 167
I have already made mention of the Dusuns' respect for
mad people, madness being attributed to possession by a
spirit. In one case, when in residence at Kotabelud, I re-
member hearing gong-beating going on during the whole of
a day, the sound being the continual boom, boom, boom of
a tetawag or tawag-tawag (a deep-toned gong), which when
beaten in this fashion always denotes trouble. On sending
to find out what was the matter, I was informed that a man
had suddenly been seized with madness and had run away
into the jungle; so the people of his village were trying to
drive out the evil spirit which possessed him in order that he
might return home.
On another occasion when coming down from up-country
on the day of the large market known as Tamu Darat, and
nearing the market ground, I noticed an object which looked
like a human body lying in the middle of the bridle-path.
All the Dusuns who passed the object — there were many
of them on their way to market — seemed to give it as wide
a berth as possible. On coming close up I saw that I had
not been mistaken. A Dusun youth, who was in some kind
of a fit, or had fainted, was lying in the middle of the path.
He was wearing a small carrying-basket of the kind called
bareit^ and as he was on his back with his legs doubled up
under him, and with his head bent right back, owing to
the basket being between his body and the ground, he
looked as if he was in danger of suifocation. I noticed that
his eyes were open and that the coloured parts of the eyes
were rolled so far up as to be almost hidden.
I was just going to a ditch at the side of the path to get
some water in my hands to throw over him when a Dusun
who was with me called out : " Don't go near him, Tuan !
He's gila babi \j,e, pig mad, the Malay term for epilepsy],
and he'll bite you, and then you'll get it too." How-
ever, I got the water, and just as I was splashing it over
the patient three Bajaus came up, who, not being frightened
like the Dusuns, helped me to unfix the back-basket. In a
1 68 Religion &^ Superstitions
few minutes the fellow had recovered, and stumbled oiF
to the nearest water for a drink, remarking that he was
hungry and he supposed that this had made him faint.
In sickness offerings are made to appease the spirits which
are supposed to be the cause of the disease : small offerings
are made at first, and if these do not have the desired effect
then something more expensive is tried. " First of all
we offer a fowl," said a Dusun to me, "and then, if that
does not appease the spirit, we kill a pig."
Before bringing this chapter to a close there are one or
two other subjects about which I should like to say a little.
One of these is with regard to the Dusun's belief in an
after life. According to general ideas the spirits of the
dead find their way to the top of Mount Kinabalu, which is
their final abode. From the accounts given me, souls both
of the good and the bad seem to reach this land of the dead,
though de Crespigny says that " the wicked ones are left
unsuccessfully trying to struggle and scramble up the rocky
sides of the mountain." I intend, however, to say some-
thing more about the souPs passage to Kinabalu in the
chapter which deals with burial customs.
There is one class of tabu in force among the Dusuns of
which I have up till now omitted to make any mention, that
dealing with the telling of personal names. According to
Dusun custom it is tabu to mention your own name, that of
your father or mother, your father-in-law or mother-in-law.
If a European asks a Dusun his name he will usually give
it, but he would not think of doing so to another native.
A man who wishes to know a person's name must seek the
information from a friend of his, who may speak the name
without committing any breach of custom. The Dusuns
say that if they were to mention the name of their mother
their knees would swell. These tabus seem to be more
strictly observed with regard to female relations than in the
case of males.
The making of blood-brothers is by no means uncommo
Religion &^ Superstitions 169
among the Dusuns. Omboi, a native of Tuaran, told me
that when two men were wishful to become blood-brothers
each made a cut in his wrist and then the other drank a
little of the blood from the cut. After that, presents are
exchanged, either fowls, tobacco or rice. In the Tem-
passuk a fowl is sacrificed in the making of blood-brothers
and each man says : " If I cheat you, may I become as this
fowl, which has just been killed."
There is among the Dusuns a peculiar custom called
"paying sagit.^^ Sagit may often be merely compensation
or damages for some offence committed. For instance, if a
man's wife is insulted, he may demand sagit from the
offender, the guilt of the latter and the amount of com-
pensation being decided by the elders of the village. There
are frequent cases of this kind of sagit at Tuaran. How-
ever, sagit occasionally takes quite another meaning, of which
I became aware through buying some human hair to re-
decorate the scabbard of a sword. Having found a man
with long hair, I asked him if he was willing to part with it,
and, if so, how much he wanted to let me "crop" him.
He answered that he would sell his hair to me for sixty
cents, but that I must give him a fowl in addition to sacrifice
as sagit. This was for the purpose of warding off any evil
which might happen to him owing to his hair, a part of him-
self, passing into my possession. Needless to say, I gave him
his fowl, a matter of only another ten cents.
CHAPTER XVIII
LEGENDS
SHORTLY after my return from Borneo I happened to
remark to a certain learned ethnographist that I had
made a rather large collection of native folk-tales.
From what he said I gathered that he thought I would have
been better employed had I devoted myself more to the
study of sociology and other matters. With all humility I
cannot say that I agree with him in this opinion. The folk-
tales of a primitive people are, I think, one of the first
things that should be collected, as through them we obtain
an insight into the native's religion, his way of thinking and
his methods of accounting for natural phenomena: besides
this, in folk-tales we often come upon casual references to
customs and beliefs of which we should probably never have
heard under ordinary circumstances, and through these is
opened a field for investigation which would otherwise have
remained closed.
Of course it may be objected that folk-tales are some-
what similar almost the world over. To this I would
answer that if we find that the people among whom we are
living have similar tales to those of a people elsewhere, we
have established a possible connection with this second
people, and we may then search and see whether there are
any other resemblances. Comparative religion and com-
parative study of customs are always interesting, whether
beliefs and customs of a like nature have arisen independ-
ently in different places through the similarity of men's
minds, or whether they have originated at some remote
period in the history of man before our primitive ancestors
170
Legends 171
had become far dispersed from that quarter of the world in
which they were evolved.
Again, though it may be said that the counterpart of a
tale can very often be found among some other race or tribe,
yet there must always be minor differences from country to
country, these being often extremely important as throwing
light on the methods and manners of the people we are
studying.
Sir J. G. Frazer, in his most useful little book of
questions published by the Cambridge University Press,
instructs the budding inquirer not to try so much to obtain
information from natives by constant questioning as " to
start the savage talking on some topic of interest, say on
birth or death customs, to let him run on till he has ex-
hausted himself, and then to jog his memory by asking him
about points which he has either imperfectly explained or
entirely omitted." This is excellent advice so long as the
savage will fulfil his share in the matter by starting to talk
about a subject which has been suggested and running on
until he has exhausted himself.
Unfortunately my experience among the aboriginal
tribes of Borneo and of the Malay States is that in the
ordinary way this is exactly what the savage will not do.
Even if you are certain that he has every wish to help you,
the probability is that when you ask him a question he will
answer it to the best of his ability, and then sit mumchance
until you question him again as to some point in his answer.
The faculty of being able to give a connected account of
any ceremony or occurrence seems generally very poorly
developed. Occasionally exceptionally intelligent natives are
to be met with. Where Sir J. G. Frazer's " instructions "
cannot be followed for such a reason, the folk-story is often
an excellent substitute.
Apart from this, it is by means of the folk-tale that
we are often enabled to become good friends with the
native. If a man has told you a story and he sees that you
172 Legends
do not laugh at him, or show contempt, he will very likely
tell you about other matters which he would be chary of
mentioning to anyone who had not gained his confidence.
One folk-story often leads to others, as the following little
episode will show.
In the course of a journey up-country I once put up in
a small hut not far from a village which I had never visited
before. As is usual, the village headman, accompanied by
several followers, came down to meet me. After talking
for a short while on local matters, the hut meanwhile
becoming rapidly filled with natives, I soon became aware
that the people were very suspicious and sulky. They sat
and glowered, and would hardly answer the most innocent
questions. I was able to guess without much difficulty the
reason for their attitude, as an important man among them
had recently been tried and sentenced for complicity in a
head-hunting outrage.
Having tried to show them, as far as possible, that I
had not come to make any fresh trouble, I began to talk |
to them about folk-tales, and to ask if they did not know
any which they could tell me, only to be met with the
answer : " Oh yes, the old people of long ago knew
stories, but we, their descendants, have not heard them."
"Why is that?" said I. "I expect we did not ask for
instruction from them," replied the man who was answering
me. " Well, if that's the case," said I, " you ought to be
ashamed of yourselves, for in every other Dusun village
where I have been they had no lack of stories. However,
if you won't tell me a story, suppose I tell you one instead."
So I told them a short tale that I had heard a few
days before at Kampong Piasau. When I had finished,
one of the old men said, with a chuckle at having been
found out: "Why, Tuan, how long have you been in
the country that you know so much about the Dusuns'
affairs?" That night I got as many stories as I could
take down.
Legends 173
Very often a village has one or two folk-tales peculiar to
itself, the incidents related being said to have happened to
some man of the village in ancient times. Of this kind are
the stories of "Why the Dusuns of Tempassuk do not eat
snakes," peculiar to the village of that name, "The Orang-
Utan of Kiau," and "The Man of Nabah." Roughly
speaking, I think that Dusun folk-tales may be said to fall
into six or seven classes: of these the local story, those
concerning religion or customs, those which account for
various natural phenomena, those which relate to the
doings of people of old times and the marvellous adven-
tures which befell them, those which tell how the
Dusuns became acquainted with useful inventions and
articles of diet, and those of a humorous character are
the most important.
The classes, however, often shade off into one another,
particularly in the case of the first four. To the Dusun
his folk-tales are in most cases much more than mere
stories told to while away the time, for in them are
enshrined his rehgious beliefs, his ideas with regard to
the things of nature which affect him, his explanation
of the origin of various customs, his astronomy and his
history.
Concerning folk-tales dealing with native religion I have
already said something in a previous chapter, and if any of
my readers should wish to read a large number of the
stories which I collected they will find them in The Journal
of the Royal Anthropological Institute, vol. xliii. (19 13). The
usual time for telling folk-stories is during harvest, both in
the fields and after work is finished, this being the season
for rejoicing, toddy-drinking and feasting. I am enabled by
the courtesy of the Royal Anthropological Institute to
reprint below a tale of each type. The stories were told in
Malay, the lingua franca of Borneo, and were taken down
straight from the lips of their narrators.
174 Legends
The Orang-Utan (Orang-Utang)
A legend of Ktau on the slopes of Kinabalu, told by Tompo
Long ago some men went into the jungle carrying blow-
pipes, and when they got near to the River Tenokop they
heard someone singing verses among the trees. Then they
looked and saw an Orang-Utan (Kagyii) sitting on the
ground singing, and this was his song : " First of all I
lived at the River Makadau, but I went to the River
Serinsin; from there I went to the River Wariu; from
the Wariu to the Penataran; from the Penataran to the
Kilambun ; from the Kilambun to the Obang, and from
the Obang to the Tenokop. I cannot go up into the trees
again for I am old and must die upon the ground. I can no
longer get fresh young leaves to eat from the trees ; I have
to eat young grass."
Then the men who had been listening said to one
another: "This Kagyu is clever at verses, let us shoot him
with our blow-pipes." One man was about to shoot when
the Kagyu saw him and said : " Do not shoot me, but make
me a hut and let me live here till I die. When you have
made my hut, bring your sisters here and I will teach them
magic, for I am skilled in it." So the men made him a hut
and they brought their sisters to him, and the Kagyu in-
structed them how each sickness has its own magical
ceremony. He taught them the spells for snake-bite and
fever, and for the bite of the centipede.
Then the men went home, about three days' journey,
to get rice for the Kagyu^ but when they came back with
the rice the Kagyu was dead; and from that day when-
ever there was sickness in Kampong Kiau they called
the women who had been instructed by the Kagyu^ and
those who were ill recovered, and if a man was wounded
and was treated by the women no blood came from the
wound.
Legends 175
A Legend of the Beginning of the World
Told by the headman of Timpalangt a Tuaran Dusun
At first there was a great stone in the middle of the sea.
At that time there was no earth, only water. The rock was
large, and it opened its mouth, and out of it came a man
and a woman. The man and the woman looked around, and
there was only water. The woman said to the man : " How
can we walk, for there is no land ? " They descended from
the rock and tried to walk on the surface of the water, and
found that they could. They returned to the rock and sat
down to think; for a long time they stopped there; then
again they walked upon the water, and at length they
arrived at the house of Bisagit (the spirit of small-pox), for
Bisagit had made land, though it was very far away.
Now the man and his wife were Kedharingan and
Munsumundok (chief gods of the Dusuns). They spoke to
Bisagit and asked for some of his earth, and he gave it
to them. So going home they pounded up the rock and
mixed Bisagit's earth . with it, and it became land. Then
Kenharingan made the Dusuns and Munsumundok made
the sky. Afterwards Kenharingan and Munsumundok made
the sun, as it was not good for men to walk about without
light. Then Munsumundok said : " There is no light at
night, let us make the moon," and they made the moon and
the seven stars, the blatek (spring-trap) and the kukurian or
constellations. The seven stars are the Pleiades ; the blatek
or blantek is, I believe, the constellation known as the Hyades.
Kenharingan and Munsumundok had one son and one
daughter. Now Kenharingan's people wept because there
was no food. So Kenharingan and Munsumundok killed
their girl child and cut it up, and from the different portions
of its body grew all things good to eat : its head gave rise
to the coco-nut, and you can see the marks of its eyes and
mouth on the coco-nut till this day ; from its arm-bones
arose sugar-cane ; its fingers became bananas and its blood
176 Legends
rice. All the animals also arose from pieces of the
child.
When Kenharingan had made everything, he said : " Who
is able to cast off his skin ? If anyone can do so, he shall
not die." The snake alone heard and said : " I can." And
for this reason till the present day the snake does not die
unless killed by man. (The Dusuns did not hear or they
would also have thrown off their skins and there would have
been no death.)
Kenharingan washed the Dusuns in the river, placing
them in a basket ; one man, however, fell out of the basket
and floating away down the river stopped near the coast.
This man gave rise to the Bajaus, who still live near the sea
and are skilful at using boats. When Kenharingan had
washed the Dusuns in the river he performed a religious
ceremony over them in his house; but one man left the
house before Kenharingan had done so and went off into
the jungle to search for something; and when he came back
he could not enter the house again, for he had become a
monkey. This man is the father of the monkeys.
The Origin of a Dusun Custom
Told by Sirinan of Piasau, Tempassuk District
Once there was a woman who had newly given birth to
a child. The house she lived in was a large one, ten doors
long. One day the women of the other rooms were dyeing
cloth with tahum (a kind of indigo), and the men of the
house were away hunting, some in one place, some in
another. About midday it began to rain, and with the
rain came much thunder and lightning. While it was
still thundering, the woman who had newly given birth
performed a ceremony in the house, and while she was
performing it she saw a woman chasing a boy outside
on the ground below, and their appearance was as if they
had been quarrelling, for the boy was weeping and the
Legends 177
woman kept snatching up sticks to throw at him. But
she did not manage to hit him, and she kept calling out:
" Stop, stop, for the people here do not know the custom."
So the woman who was in the house stopped her per-
formance and going to the door called out : " Why are you
treating your boy like that ? " The other woman stopped,
and said : " I am treating him like this because you people
do not know the custom." "What sort of custom?" said
the first woman, and while she still spoke the thunder
stopped, and the boy also stopped running away. The
woman outside answered her: "In this you do not know
the custom, and that is why my son is fighting me. It is
because you women are dyeing cloth when your husbands
have gone to hunt, and it would be good if they, your
husbands, were all together in one place in the jungle. See
when they come back, some will bring white, some red and
some yellow ; these women are dyeing their cloth black,'*'*
Then the women of the house said : " We did not know
of any custom like this. What is it?" The woman
answered them: "This is the custom: when you wish to
dye cloth (black or blue) you must not take hold of
anything white, red or yellow." Said the women of the
house: "Instruct us in this custom." And the woman
outside said : " You must keep this custom, and it would
be good if men did not get hit by things thrown by my
son [_i,e. thunderbolts]. If the things he throws about only
hit a coco-nut-tree it does not matter, but if they hit a man,
there will be trouble for that man. Another time your
husbands must not be seeking for things to eat, red, white
or yellow, when you are dyeing your cloth black. And
do not bring these colours into the house while you are
still dyeing cloth." Then the woman and the boy vanished.
After a time came the men who had been hunting ; four
had got a deer (red blood), and the other six had brought
tumeric (tumeric is yellow), and the young white shoots of
the beluon-tree. When the women saw the men coming.
178 Legends
they called out: "Whatever you have brought from the
jungle, do not bring it into the house this night." So the
men slept outside with the goods they had brought from
the jungle. On the morrow they brought their deer and
other things into the house, and the women of the house
told them how the woman had chased the boy. And to
the present day women may not touch red, yellow or white
when they are dyeing cloth.
["I think that the boy who was being chased by his
mother was the Spirit of Thunder." — Sirinan.]
Note, — The colours mentioned would appear to be
symbolical of a thunderstorm:
Black or dark blue . . The clouds
White The rain
Yellow and red . . , The lightning
The Making of the Bluntong (Rainbow)
Told by Sirinan {lonv-country Dusuti) of Piasau, Tempassuk District
Long ago the rainbow was a path for men. Those who
lived up-country used the rainbow as a bridge when they
wished to go down-country in search of wives. For though
there were women up-country, the up-country men were
very fond of the down-country women. Because of the
men's desire for wives from the coast they made the
rainbow as a bridge, and you can see the floor and
hand-rail of the bridge in the rainbow to the present
day. The men when they had first made the rainbow
walked on it to the women's houses. When the men
had fed, the women followed the men along the rainbow
to their homes. When they arrived up-country the
marriages were celebrated with a feast, and the men
became drunk. Then came a headman from another
village and said to them : *' You men are very clever ; how
long have I lived in this country, but never yet have I
seen anything like your rainbow. Do you intend to leave
Legends 179
it there or not ? " The men repUed : " When we want to
go down-country with our wives we will put it in place,
but when we do not want it we will take it away," and
thus they do to the present day. What the men were
I do not know, but they were more than ordinary men.
It is an old-time tale of our people. Perhaps it is true, for
just now, as you saw, the rainbow vanished.
How THE BaJAU came TO THE TeMPASSUK AND THE
DUSUN LEARNT THE UsE OF BeESWAX
Told by Serundaiy Orang Tua of KalisaSy Tempassuk District
There is a tree named kendilong which has a sap white as
water, and this sap is very irritating to the skin. The
kendilong is a home for bees, and if men wish to take the
honey they cut steps in the tree up to the bees' nest.
Once there was a poor man, and every night he dreamed
that if he found a kendilong-Xxee he would become rich. So
he set out to look for one, and when it was near night he
found a kendilong, and slept the night there. Now there
were bees' nests in the tree. The next morning he went
home, and brought two companions back with him. Two
men climbed the tree, and one stopped below by the trunk.
They took the bees' nests, but did not know to whom to sell
them. Now there was a Bajau who had come up the river
in a boat, for at this time there were no Bajaus living in the
country. This man met the Dusun who had got the bees'
nests, and going home with him he saw four sacks of nests
and bought them for a little cloth, saying that he did not
know what they were. He said that he would try and
sell the nests, and that he wished to become the Dusun's
brother. So they swore brotherhood, and sacrificed a hen,
and the Bajau promised to give the Dusun his share if there
were any profits from the nests, at the same time telling him
to collect any more that he might find. Then the Bajau
sailed away, and the Dusun searched hard for bees' nests.
i8o Legends
Now the Bajau had promised to return in three months'
time, and, when he came, he brought a tongkang (a kind of
small junk) full of goods, while he found the Dusun's house
full of bees' nests. So the Dusun got much goods from the
Bajau, and became rich, and that is how the Dusun got to
know about beeswax.
The Legend of Nonok Kurgung
Told by Orang Tua Letigok, a low-country Dusun of Bengkahaky
Tempassuk District
Long ago, when there were no people in this country of
the Tempassuk, there were two people at Nonok Kurgung,
a man and his wife. The woman became with child and
gave birth to seven children at one time, both male and
female; four were females and three were males. When
these children were grown up they wished for husbands and
wives, and asked their father and mother how they were to
get them, as there were no other people in the country.
Their father and mother said to them : " Wait, and if your
dreams are good you will get your wish."
When the woman was asleep Kenharingan came to her in
her dreams and said : " I have come because I have pity on
you that you cannot get wives or husbands for your children.
Your children must marry one another, as that was the reason
I gave you seven children at one birth." In the morning
the woman asked her husband if he had had any dreams,
and he said : " No." Then he asked his wife if she had
dreamed, and she said that Kenharingan had come to her
and told her that their children must marry one another. So
they consulted together and ordered their children to marry,
and after they had been married for some time all the women
gave birth to twenty children each at a time, and these
children in their turn intermarried.
Now at this time the people had no plantations, and they
got their rice by cutting down bamboo stems, the rice com-
ing out from the inside of the stem. There was a river with
Legends i 8 i
many nonok-trees near the village, and the children used to
go and bathe there and He under the trees. Every day they
went to bathe there, and every day a child w^as lost. This
went on until twenty children had been lost, and the fathers
decided to try and find out what was happening to them.
They searched the river and they searched the banks, but
could find nothing, and there were no crocodiles in the river.
After they had hunted in vain for three days they went
home, and when they met together they decided they would
run away from the place. So they collected all their goods
to start. One night all was ready, and the next morning
they started out, taking with them their wives and children,
their baggage and bamboos to give them padi. After they
had journeyed for a day one man and his family stopped
behind to make a house, a second man stopped on the second
day, and so on till there was nobody left to journey on.
These families which stopped formed villages, and from
their bamboos came all sorts of food-plants, vegetables, rice
and caladium, and these they planted in their gardens. This
is how this country became peopled with Dusuns to as far
away as Marudu.
The Origin of the Blatek, the Ror and the Puru-puru
(Three Constellations)
Told by Sirinan, a tow-country Dusun of PiasaUy Tempassuk District
Long ago men planted only tapioca, caladium and beans ;
at that time there was no rice. When they had planted
them they fenced them round, and after a time they cleared
away the weeds in the crop. At weeding-time they found
that wild pigs had been getting in and had eaten all their
caladium, "What use is it," said they, "our planting
crops? The wild pigs only eat them." In the evening
the men went home to their houses, and when it was night
they went to sleep.
Now one man dreamed, and in his dream an old man
came to him, and he said to the old man : " All my caladium
1 82 Legends
and tapioca and beans which I planted have been eaten by
wild pigs." Said the old man : " You must make a blatek
[Malay, blantek~\ [spring-trap] at the edge of your fence
where the pigs enter." Then the man awoke, for it was
near morning, and thinking over the dream, he resolved to
make a blatek near the edge of his garden. So he ate, and
when he had finished he went out to his clearing and started
making a blatek. When he had finished it he set it and
returned home, and on the fourth day after he had set the
trap he went back to his plantation to look if it had caught
anything. When he got there he found a wild pig in the
trap, but it had become decayed and was not fit to eat. He
poked it with the end of his walking-stick, and found that
its head was separate from the body, and that the under jaw
and teeth had fallen away from the head.
The man went home, and at night he went to sleep and
dreamed that the same old man came to him and said : "What
about your blatek ? Did it catch a wild pig ? " " Yes," said
the man, " I caught a pig, but it had become rotten and I
was not able to eat it." "Did you take a walking-stick
with you ? " said the old man. " And did you prod the wild
pig's head with the stick?" "I did," said he. "Very
well," said the old man, " do not plant caladium and beans
this year; plant rice instead." "But where shall I get rice
from ? " said he, " for there is no rice in this village."
" Well, search for it in other villages," said the old man.
^* If you only get two or three measures that will be enough.
The marks where you thrust your stick into the pig's head
shall be called ihe puru-puru. The lower jaw shall have its
name of the ror^ and the blatek also shall keep its name, and
all these shall become stars."
Then said the man : " I want instruction from you, for if
I get rice how am I to plant it ? " Said the old man ; " You
must watch for the blatek^ the ror and the puru-puru to
appear in the sky, and when, shortly after dark, the puru-
puru appears about a quarter way up in the sky, that is the
Legends 183
time to plant rice. The puru-puru will come out first, the
ror behind it and the blatek last of all." When the man
woke up he found that the old man's words had come true,
and that the puru-puru^ the blatek and the ror had become
stars. To the present day they follow this custom, and the
rice is planted according to the position of these stars as seen
shortly after dark (about seven o'clock).
The Lazy Woman and her "Bayong"
A Dusun story J told by the Orang Tua of Kampong Tarafitidan,
Tempassuk District
Long ago there was a very lazy woman ; she would not
work, and as for bathing, she was so lazy that she only
washed herself once in ten days. One day she went to the
bathing-place and a nipa palm called to her from across the
river. The palm-tree kept on calling her, but she was too
lazy to answer or to cross the river to see what it wanted.
At last the nipa said : " Why are you so lazy that you will
not cross the river? There is a boat there on your side of
the water and you can paddle across and take my shoot."
So the woman went very slowly and got the boat, and
going very lazily across the river in it she took the shoot
from the palm. Then said the nipa : " I called you because
you are so lazy. You must take this shoot and dry it a
little in the sun, and make a bayong from it." (A bayong is
a large basket for carrying, made from the nipa shoot; it
has no cover.)
Now the lazy woman nearly wept when she heard that
she was to make a bayong-^ however, she took the sprout
home and made a bayong from it. When this was finished
it spoke to the woman, and said : " You must take me along
the path where people are going to market and put me down
near the side of the road where everybody passes ; then you
can go home." So the woman took the bayong and left it
near the road where people were going to market. Many
1 84 Legends
people passed there, but no one noticed the bayong until a
rich man came along and, seeing it, said : " I will take this
bayong to market, as it will do to hold anything I buy-
there, and if the owner is at market I can give it back
to him."
Presently the rich man came to the market, and he asked
everyone there if they had lost a bayong^ but nobody acknow-
ledged it. *' Well, then," said the rich man, " it is my gain,
and I will put what I have bought into it and take it home ;
but if anyone claims it they can come to my house and get
it." So the rich man put all his goods — sireh^ lime, cakes,
fish, rice and bananas — into the bayong until it was full, and
while the man was talking to some of his friends the bayong
started oiF on its own accord to go home to the lazy woman's
house. When it was still some little way off from the house
it began calling to the lazy woman : " Come here, come here
and help me, for I can't stand the weight ! " Then the
woman went to the bayong^ though she was nearly weeping
at having to go and fetch it home, but when she saw
that it was full of all sorts of good things she said:
*^This is a splendid bayong^ but perhaps it will want
some payment. At any rate, if it is always like this, I
shall get an easy living by just leaving the bayong on the
road to market."
So on market days the woman always placed the bayong
near the side of the path, and it always came home full ; but
it never met any of the men who had found it before until
it had cheated six men. Now at the seventh market the
men who had filled the bayong on the six previous occasions,
and had thus lost their property, happened to be going to
market all together, and when they saw the bayong left near
the road, they all recognised it as the one which had cheated
them. So the six of them collected buffalo dung and filled
the bayong to the top — *' For," said they, '* this bayong is a
proper rascal ! " Then the bayong^ being full, started oiT
straight for home and did not go to the market. When the
Legends 185
lazy woman saw it coining she rushed to help it home, but
when she found it was full of buffalo dung she began to cry
— *' For," said she, " if the bayong does not bring me food
surely 1 shall die." As for the bayong^ it would never bring
food from the market again.
\
CHAPTER XIX
THOUGH the Dusuns may be said to be head-
hunters, this cult never seems to have attained the
same popularity with them as among the Kenyah-
Kayans and Sea Dyaks of Sarawak. In the Tempassuk the
villages of the plains do not appear to have indulged in head-
hunting since they have been in contact with Europeans.
The lowlanders of Tuaran, on the other hand, have at the
present day some fairly large collections of skulls in their
long houses, and how these were obtained I will explain
later. In the hill country of both districts head-hunting
has only ceased since the Chartered Company has acquired a
firm hold, and one case has even occurred within the last few
years, the principals in the affair being executed at Jesselton
shortly after I went to the Tempassuk.
The reasons for head-hunting among Bornean tribes in
general seem to have been threefold : firstly, the practice
was not without religious significance; secondly, it was con-
sidered a sport and the heads regarded as trophies ; and
thirdly, among some tribes no youth was considered fit to
rank as a man until he had obtained a head, the women
taunting those who had been unsuccessful as cowards.
With regard to Dusun head-hunting in particular, it certainly
had a great deal of religious significance — this side of the
matter I deal with in another chapter — but it could scarcely
be considered a sporting pursuit, the methods employed in
obtaining heads being the very reverse of fair fighting.
The usual procedure was for some of the " braves " to set
out from home and proceed to hang round another village
with which they were at feud, taking care to hide them-
i86
Warfare, Head -hunting &^ Weapons 187
selves well in the jungle, preferably near to some of the
villagers' padi-fields. When an unarmed straggler or two,
very likely women or children, came out to work in the
fields, they made a sortie, killed them, cut off their heads
and made off as fast as their legs would carry them back
to their own village, where they shivered in fright at the
thought of a counter-attack. Anyone who had been present
at the head-taking, even if he had, as someone once said,
" only danced around and yelled ' Hurrah ! ' " considered
himself entitled to decorate his body with the particular
tattoo pattern which denoted a man who had taken a head.
The head of a woman or child was considered of just as
much worth as that of a full-grown man.
I think that a little story with regard to some skulls
illustrates very well the Dusun's sharp powers of observance
with regard to matters in which he has an interest. On
one trip I made up-country I took with me old Lengok,
the Orang Tua or headman of Bengkahak ; and during our
journey we paid a visit to Tambatuan. Here, when walk-
ing round the village, I noticed a basket containing a couple
of old human skulls hung up against the side of a small hut
which was used as a store-house for padi.
Turning to Lengok, I said in jest: "Well, Lengok, whom
do you think those heads belonged to, Bajaus or Dusuns?"
He went up to the basket, took out the skulls, and after
turning them over for a minute in his hands replied : " These
are Dusuns' heads, Tuan." " Oh, don't talk nonsense,"
said L "How on earth can you tell what tribe they belong
to?" "Well, you see, Tuan," said Lengok, " the Bajaus
have got round heads, while the heads of Dusuns are a good
deal longer." The old fellow had thus found out for
himself that length and breadth of the skull were important
characters in determining race, a conclusion which was only
arrived at by anthropologists after long and serious study.
His diagnosis was undoubtedly correct, as the Dusuns are
dolichocephalic (long-headed) Indonesians, while the Bajaus
1 88 Warfare, Head -hunting &^ Weapons
are a Proto-Malayan and brachy cephalic (short-headed)
people.
The village of Kaung still has a head-house, but I was
unfortunately never able to visit it, as on the couple of
occasions when I was near the village the Tempassuk was
so badly in flood as to be impassable, and I was unable to
cross from the resting-hut which lies close to the bridle-path
on the opposite bank of the stream. I, however, visited the
village in 191 5. There were then three head-houses, each
containing two or more skulls ; one of the huts had, however,
fallen down. Mention is made by Burbidge of a "little
flat-topped head-house at Kiau containing about fifty skulls,"
but though it may still exist, I have never seen it.
According to tales told by the natives, regular battles
between village and village did occasionally occur in former
days, but they were admitted to have done so very rarely.
Except for his sneaking penchant for head-hunting, the
Dusun is a man of peace, if not a coward; and, being a
keen agriculturist, he dislikes war extremely, as it interferes
with his chief pursuit. In head-hunting regular scores of
heads were kept between villages which were at feud. For
instance, if Kiau had got eight heads from Kaung, and
Kaung only four heads from Kiau, it was " up to Kaung " to
get at least an equal number, and, if possible, one or two
more. If both villages wished to close the account, this
could be done by the village which had taken most heads
paying for the balance at a rate agreed upon by the elders
of both parties.
This method of settling old feuds was a good deal used
when the Tempassuk was brought under proper control by
the Chartered Company, after the defeat and death of Mat
Saleh, and when the subsequent operations against his
lieutenants Kamunta and Langkap had been brought to a
successful conclusion. It was in the final battle against Mat
Saleh at Tambunan that the Tuaran Dusuns are said to
have got most of the heads which can now be seen in their
Warfare, Head-hunting &^ Weapons 189
villages. At the time that the Government was preparing
for the expedition which ran him to earth, the Tuaran
Dusuns, who were terrified at the mere name of Mat Saleh,
were very much against their will pressed into service
as carriers.
After the battle, the Tuaran men, who by this time felt
quite courageous, ran about with drawn parangs, cutting
off the heads of the enemy who had been shot by the Sikh
military police — ^whence these skulls. No doubt on their
return to the bosom of their families the "warriors" re-
presented themselves as being the conquerors of the much-
dreaded Bajau leader. I heard a story that one of the men
cut the top off a skull that he took, picked out the dried
brains, and made it into a drinking-cup, but as he died very
shortly afterwards it was thought that he had been killed
by the dead man's spirit for his impiety, a skull taken in
head-hunting being a thing which will bring good luck if
propitiated and sacrificed to at regular intervals, but a very
unlucky possession if not treated with due respect.
Dusun weapons of offence are largely procured from
other tribes; indeed probably the majority of those found in
the extreme north of Borneo have not been locally made,
many of them being of Sulu type. The cutting weapons
found among the Dusuns are the pida (or barong), a very
broad-bladed knife which tapers to a sharp point and is
capable of inflicting a most dreadful wound — I had a Dyak
lance-corporal who had once had his face laid open from the
bridge of the nose to the angle of the jaw with one of these
weapons; the pedang, a sword with either a straight or
cutlass form of blade and a cross-shaped handle; and the
parang Hang, a sword with a blade narrow towards its handle
and broad towards the point, with one side of the blade con-
cave— that on the left when the sword is held back upwards
— and the other convex. The peculiar form makes it
necessary to give a sort of scooping cut in using it, which
renders the parang Hang a very awkward sort of weapon in
I go Warfare, Head-hunting &^ Weapons
the hands of a tyro. Probably most of the pedangs found
in North Borneo were made in Brunei. The weapon has a
wide distribution and is largely used in the Malay Peninsula.
The type of hilt is said — I should think quite correctly —
to have been derived from the swords used by the old
Crusaders. Not only is the hilt in the shape of a cross, but
the upper limb of the cross is converted into a small round
chalice, which is, of course, entirely meaningless to the native.
No doubt the pedang was introduced into the East Indies by
Arab traders. The parang Hang itself is not so common in
North Borneo as a variant of it which is often called the
gayang: this is of similar shape, but the blade has not got
convex and concave sides. The handles of both the gayang
and the parang Hang are generally made from the base and
brow-tine of a stag's antler, and are highly carved, but wood
is occasionally used as a substitute.
The gayang is manufactured in one or two villages in the
Tempassuk, the best specimens coming from Kiau. In this
case I know that the smiths learnt how to make the weapon
from a Dyak who was for a long time resident in the
district. With regard to the much rougher specimens
turned out in other villages, I am not quite certain if they
are truly native products or not, but I rather suspect that
they are copied from weapons seen in the hands of wander-
ing Dyaks, though they differ from the Dyak type in several
small particulars.
Apart from spears, the only stabbing weapon in use is
the large sword-like dagger known as sundang or serundang
to the Malays of the Peninsula, but locally called a kris,
which can also be used for cutting. This, again, is, I believe,
really a Sulu weapon : it may have either a waved or straight
blade, and the hilt, which is made of wood, ivory, elephant
or sperm-whale tooth is always cut to represent a perched
bird. The true Malayan kris with a hilt in the shape of
a squatting human figure is rarely seen in the Tempassuk,
and has never been made locally.
Warfare, Head-hunting &^ Weapons igi
Spears are manufactured in many Dusun villages, and are
used both for fighting and hunting. An up-country Dusun,
when going out to his rice-field, which is often some way
from his house, almost invariably carries his spear with him,
partly in case he may meet a pig on the way or in the crop,
and partly, I think, because he has not yet forgotten the
days when attacks used to be made by the gangs of head-
hunters or Bajau ruffians from the coast. Spears are also
useful as walking-sticks, and they are always used in this
way by natives going on long journeys.
The Dusun shield is circular and is made either of wood
or rattan cane. The wooden shield is made in one piece
and may be either of hard or soft wood ; the rattan shield
is formed from a long piece of cane wound in a flat spiral
form, the coils of the spiral being woven together with fine
basket-work of the same material. Every shield has two
hoops at the back, into which the left arm as far as the
elbow is slipped when the shield is required for use.
One very curious specimen which I bought in the
Tempassuk was a round hat made from a piece of light
palm- wood; on the under side of this, and some distance
from the brim, was a raised ring of wood which was for
the purpose of fitting the hat to its wearer's head. This
wooden rim was bored with two holes on either side, which
communicated with one another. A separate string was
passed through each couple, with the ends knotted together.
When the hat was being worn, two short loops thus hung
down on each side of the man's face, the idea being that,
should the owner of the hat meet with any trouble in the
course of his wanderings, he could snatch it off, run his left
fore-arm through the loops and immediately be provided
with an eflfective buckler.
The only other weapon which requires much notice is the
^blow-pipe. This instrument is not now used to any very
great extent in either the Tuaran or Tempassuk districts,
and is only, as a rule, to be found in up-country villages.
192 Warfare, Head-hunting &^ Weapons
though probably it was much commoner in former days.
So much has been written about the Bornean blow-pipe and
the methods by which it is manufactured that I do not think
it worth while to go into the matter again here, as the
Dusun blow-pipe, except in a few unimportant details, is
exactly similar to that used by the Kenyah-Kayans and other
tribes. It consists of a cylindrical tube of hard wood, while
the muzzle end is fitted with a small wooden sight above
and with a flat spear-blade attachment below, which is said
to be of use in guiding the dart on leaving the muzzle, but
can if necessity arises be also used as a weapon.
The short darts, of which the points are covered with
ipoh poison, have a conical head made of pith, the upper or
larger end of which closely fits the bore of the weapon. In
discharging the dart from the blow-pipe the weapon is not
held like a gun as might be expected, but is gripped with
both hands close to the mouth-piece, the knuckles being
upwards.
The dart-quiver is a bamboo box made from a large inter-
node, with one of the adjoining nodes left untouched to
form its bottom. It is usually covered with a cap made
from the same or a similar bamboo, which consists of an
unbroken node, with a few inches of an adjoining internode
to form the sides. A slight shaving down of the outside of
the quiver at the top allows for the fitting of the cap. The
blow-pipe is at present used for hunting monkeys, though
in former days it was largely used as a weapon of offence.
Mention may be made here of the working-knife, which
is carried by every native. This is worn on the left side of
the body, being attached by two cords around the waist
which are fastened by a loop and toggle. Though the
parang is not primarily intended for a weapon, it is very
often put to this use, and is generally kept in a state of
razor-like sharpness.
Before bringing this chapter to an end I must make
mention of Dusun war coats and helmets. The former are
A DusuN Man of Tambatuan in War Dress.
He wears a thick coat of closely-woven fibre, which is friniied at the bottom and trimmed with
cowrie shells. The round shield is made of wood, and the sword, suspended Irom a cowrie-
covered bandolier, has a tail of human hair inserted in the pommel.
A Head-House at Kaung " Ulu," Tempassuk District.
The basket which the man has removed from the little house, or hut, contains several human
fihulls and also some of the Orang-utan. When a man was wounded in a fight, but his head not
secured, the Kaung people added an ape's skull to the basket as a substitute for the man's.
Warfare, Head-hunting ^ Weapons 193
very thick and heavy and act as a protection against sword-
cuts. They are fringed at their lower edges and sometimes
are decorated with cowrie shells. The material of which
they are made is lamba fibre. Of the helmets, I have only
seen two specimens; one of these, which was ornamented
with cowrie shells, had a brim, the other not. They were
rough, but, I should think, fairly serviceable in native
warfare.
THE BAJAUS & ILLANUNS
CHAPTER XX
RACES OF THE TUARAN ^ TEMPASSUK DISTRICTS
THE Bajaus resemble the Dusuns in speaking a
language belonging to the Malayo-Polynesian
group, but are racially nearly allied to the Malays
proper, while the Dusuns, if they are related at all, are only
distantly so. Scientifically speaking, the Bajaus are Proto-
Malays, but this practically only means that they are an
early evolved Malay people. They have, I believe, the
rounded skull of the Malay, and they also conform to
type in other respects, though their features are more
roughly cut than those of the Peninsular or Sumatran
Malay. These remarks apply equally well to the Illanuns,
except that they are, perhaps, a better-looking people.
These two peoples dwell, as has been already remarked, on
the sea-board and lower river reaches. In religion they are
lax Mohammedans, but their customs are slightly different ;
yet, owing to their being of the same faith and of very
similar habits, they may be conveniently described together.
In personal appearance, dress and character they are almost
identical, while it is generally impossible for a European to
distinguish between members of the two tribes. A native,
of course, can do so, but then he would listen to see which
of them were talking Illanun and which Bajau; besides this,
he would probably be able to make a fairly good guess
by taking into account small diiferences of facial type or
of dress — such as the tying of the head-cloth — which a
European would not notice.
The Bajau man is rather a dark-skinned person of low
stature. His cheek-bones are fairly high and his eyes small,
194
Races of Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts 195
hard and bright. St John says in speaking of the tribe:
"No one can accuse the Bajaus of being a handsome race ;
they have generally pinched-up, small faces, low foreheads,
but bright eyes. ... I never saw a good-looking face
among them, judging even by a Malay standard"; and this
description is, on the whole, not unfair.
In character the Bajau is a lazy spendthrift, a liar, a cheat,
a thief, a wheedler, a blusterer and a swaggerer. Some
Europeans have the same idea about the Bajaus that the
Western American is said to entertain with regard to Red
Indians — " the only good Injuns is dead 'uns"; but still the
Bajaus have some redeeming features, which are not without
their appeal to me. Firstly, the Bajau is above all things a
sportsman : organise a deer-drive, a pony- or a buffalo-race,
and the usually lazy Bajau becomes a different person. I
do not think that the Bajau's love of hunting is by any
means to be solely ascribed to the desire for meat, or that
of racing to the wish to win a wager. No doubt both
these matters add to the zest with which he pursues the
sport, but sport he loves for sport's sake. Excitement of
any kind is the Bajau's delight, and excitement he must
have. Piracy, raiding and burning Chinese shops, which is
the Bajau's idea of the highest kind of pleasure, gambling,
buffalo- or pony-racing, cattle-thieving, cock-fighting or
hunting — all these are, or used to be, indulged in with the
greatest ardour.
Like the Malay, the Bajau is incapable of properly per-
forming work which requires long and continuous effort;
but if he can be interested in a task he will work at it well
so long as the interest lasts. The Bajaus, having been
undisciplined free-booters and rovers for many generations,
did not take kindly to the rule of the Chartered Company,
under which they were forced to give up their amusements
of this kind. The consequence was that both they and
the Illanuns, having found a leader in the so-called rebel.
Mat Saleh, proceeded to resist the threatened restraint of
196 Races of Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts
the Company's rule to the best of their ability; but the
Mat Saleh " rebellion " was the only serious trouble which
the Chartered Company have had with the natives from
the time that they first began to tighten their hold on the
country.
Piracy and pillage having been now suppressed, the Bajau
has to make shift to content himself with such amusements
as remain to him. BuiFalo-thieving is still a popular amuse-
ment, while gambling, cock-fighting, and horse- and buffalo-
racing receive their fair share of attention. To these
relaxations many Bajaus have now added the sometimes
profitable pursuit of trying to extract advances from estate
managers pretending that they are going to recruit labourers
and give them advances. With money so obtained a Bajau
generally retires to a gambling shop, and has a splendid
time until the day of reckoning arrives.
The character of the Illanuns is somewhat similar to that
of the Bajaus, "only more so." The Bajau is a truculent
swaggerer ; the Illanun can outdo him at his own game.
The Bajau is a braggart, a liar, a spendthrift and a gambler;
the Illanun is a bigger one. The lllanun's chief idea of
pleasure is to swagger about in fine clothes and do no work,
unless an occasional piracy or inland raid can be so described.
In the days of old the Illanun pirates must at any rate
have been fine seamen, for their name was feared through-
out the Archipelago, and even around the coasts of the
Malay Peninsula. They still cling to the memory of their
former prowess, and show their fancied superiority in their
independent bearing and truculent demeanour. The best
that can be said for them is that, though their deeds are
evil, they are gentlemanly rascals. Their worst actions are
often partly redeemed by some humorous touch or plausible
excuse, which makes one want to laugh even when extremely
angry.
The Illanuns are a rather better-looking people than the
Bajaus, though they certainly cannot be called handsome.
Races of Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts 1 97
Mongolian characteristics are, I think, more developed among
the chiefs than among the common people. The aristocratic
type of face is rather long and thin, with fairly high cheek-
bones, light, yellowish skin, a somewhat delicate nose, and
long almond eyes set at a considerable angle from the hori-
zontal. St John's description of the Illanun Raja Muda
would answer well for one of the chiefs of that tribe with
whom I was acquainted. He says: "The Raja Muda, the
Illanun chief, came on board and was very civil. He is a
handsome-looking, manly fellow and extremely polite. From
what I have heard and seen he is a type of his countrymen
— a different race from the Bajau: a slight figure, more
regular features than the Malays, a quiet, observant eye;
he wore a delicate moustache." This description of an
Illanun noble is good, but I am not sure that it would
answer for the Illanuns in general.
As I have remarked in an earlier chapter, the Illanuns
are comparatively recent arrivals from Mindanao in the
Philippines. The Bajaus, though older settlers along the
north-west coast, appear to be also invaders, and according
to Dusun legendry first came in trading prahus from the
direction of Kudat. Some of the Bajaus claim that their
ancestors came originally from Johore.
Both tribes are nominally Mohammedan, but are not
fanatical ; indeed they are very lax in the observance of
matters of ritual. Owing to the two tribes being of the
same religion, a considerable amount of inter-marriage takes
place, and possibly the fate of the Illanuns, who are com-
paratively few in numbers, will be absorption into the pre-
ponderating mass of the Bajaus. The Illanun villages in the
Tempassuk district, which only number about seven all told,
are situated some near Fort Alfred, not far from the mouth
of the Tempassuk river, and some around and beyond
Pindasan, formerly the great stronghold of Illanun pirates.
The women of both tribes are allowed a degree of liberty
almost equal to that of their Dusun sisters. They do not
I g8 Races of Tuaran &P Tempassuk Districts
veil themselves except at festivals, not even wearing a scarf
over the head as does the Malay v^^oman — the scarf being
used to veil the face whenever the wearer has a fit of
modesty. Bajau and Illanun women frequent all the low-
land markets and prove themselves excellent saleswomen
of fish, fruit, native-made cloth, betel nut, sireh, lime, etc.
They even join in dances with the men, and respectable
women will play musical instruments before mixed company.
The ladies are usually anything but beautiful, and are
rendered even less attractive than necessary by their unlovely
methods of dressing their hair and the clumsy fashion of
their dress. In addition, a large quid of sireb stuffed into
one cheek or partly protruding from the mouth, with trickles
of blood-red saliva running down the chin, scarcely adds to
the charms of even the most attractive face.
The character of the Bajau and Illanun women is, how-
ever, I believe, a good deal higher than that of their men-
kind. Scandals are comparatively rare, though considerable
liberty, if not licence, is allowed to widows and divorced
women. Prostitution is unknown.
Both Bajau and Illanun women are expert cloth weavers,
and those of the latter tribe often support their menkind in
idleness by selling the products of their looms.
Unfortunately nearly all the money on which either a
Bajau or an Illanun man manages to lay his hands is lost in
his favourite pursuit of gambling. Probably in the old days,
when native gambled with native, the effect was not so bad
as it is at present. For though losses and gains no doubt
had an unsettling effect, the money or valuables at any rate
remained in the tribe. Since the Chartered Company's rule
has been established, however, the monopolies for liquor-
selling, pawnbroking and gambling have been put up for
auction to the highest bidder. The farmer, invariably a
Chinaman, has shops in every place of the least importance,
and into them he put his agents or sub-lessees. In each
shop there are two doors opening in the frontage, one
Races of Tuaran &^ Tempassuk Districts igg
giving entrance to the gambling-room, the other to the shop
proper, where pledges are taken, liquor sold and, in out-
stations, a considerable business done in general goods.
At Kotabelud the gambling shop used to be crowded all
day long by a crowd of lazy Bajaus apparently engaged in
ridding themselves of all the property in their possession in
an attempt to make money without exertion. When a man
had been " cleaned out " of all his ready money he would
return next day with some family heirloom, a dagger with
an ivory hilt, a fine old brass betel-box or a silver ornament,
and pledge his property in the pawnshop, so conveniently
under the same roof with the gambling establishment. With
the money thus obtained he would again tempt fortune,
probably with no better luck than he had experienced on
the day before. Even then his appetite for gambling would
remain unsatisfied, and frequently Bajaus gamble till they
have stripped themselves and their houses of every scrap of
valuable property.
The very best of the pledged articles comparatively seldom
find their way to the shelf kept for unredeemed pledges, as
the Bajau or Illanun owner manages to keep paying interest
on his most treasured heirlooms, but they are frequently left
in pawn for long periods, and if redeemed find their way
back to the pawnshop almost at once. To do the pawnshop-
keepers justice, they are usually fairly good to the natives,
and do not declare their goods forfeit even after the legal
period has expired without payment of interest, being willing
to allow old customers time to scrape together the necessary
money to renew the ticket.
The chief harm done to the coastal people by the licensed
gambling shops is not so much that the Bajaus and Illanuns
are encouraged to gamble — they would do that anyhow —
but that all their wealth is passing into the hands of another
people — the Chinese. The Government of the Federated
Malay States has recently closed all the gambling shops in
the states of the Federation, but some few years ago, when
200 Races of Tuaran ^ Tempassuk Districts
they were allowed, it very properly forbade Malays to stake
any money in them.
A Chartered Company which has to try and earn dividends
for its shareholders and controls a poor country cannot,
however, afford to be quite so nice in these matters as the
Government of a rich country like the Federated Malay
States, though I should scarcely say that this was an argu-
ment in favour of the continued existence of chartered
companies in general. What the fate of the Bajaus will
be in the future it is difficult to say, but though they are
economically an almost useless people, I am inclined to think
that they will continue to exist, if only because they are
such rascals. In most cases it seems to be the simple and
inoffensive tribes and races who are crushed out in the
struggle for existence, while nobody can accuse the Bajaus
of being either one or the other. The Illanuns will, as I
have remarked above, probably become absorbed by the
Bajaus, owing to their small numbers, common religion and
similarity of customs and methods of living. Even at the
present day there are many natives who have a Bajau father
and an Illanun mother, or vice versa.
Drying Padi in a Dusun Village.
The round trays, ordinarily used for winnowing, contain tiie grain, which is being dried. The
old woman sitting on the boulder has a stick beside her with which to drive away the fowls.
K
CHAPTER XXI
THE Bajau man is but a poor agriculturist. There
is nothing intrinsically wrong with his methods,
but to him agriculture seems to be a comparatively
modern development, to which he has not taken very kindly.
It is seldom that enough rice is planted to last the family till
the next harvest, and through his indifference and laziness
he is often late in ploughing the land and setting out the
young seedlings. Since all the Bajau villages are in the
lowland districts, they chiefly plant wet padi, but a little dry
padi is also grown on land which it is difficult to irrigate.
Their methods are similar to those already described for the
Dusuns, but less ingenuity is usually shown in irrigating
the soil. Each group of fields is surrounded by a strong
bamboo or wooden fence in order to keep out wandering
buffaloes and cattle.
Near harvest-time, when flocks of small birds collect to
feed on the ripening grain, scarers similar to those used by
the Dusuns are erected, and also windmills on tripods of tall
bamboos, the bamboo " sails " of which make a creaking and
a humming noise as they revolve. From the back of the
sails, at the centre, there usually projects a long tail, made,
I believe, from a leaf of the coco-nut palm, the pinnce of the
leaf hanging downwards. The tail is supported by a cord
attached at one end to the top of the windmill frame and at
the other to the leaf at a distance of about three-quarters of
its length, so that the inner portion is slightly raised from
the horizon talj while the tip falls downwards. The vibration
caused by the sails makes the tail quiver and jerk, and adds
greatly to the effectiveness of the windmill as a bird-scarer.
201
202 Agriculture, Hunting &^ Fishing
When the land is lying fallow, bufFaloes are turned loose
in the fields and help to manure the ground to a certain
extent.
A considerable amount of sugar-cane is planted, and both
Illanuns and Bajaus make rough sugar-mills which are
worked by a buifalo, which walks round and round in a
circle, yoked under a movable horizontal beam which oper-
ates two vertical rollers. These interlock at the top and
base with rudely cut worm-gear. The lengths of cane are
thrust between the rollers and the expressed juice runs
down and percolates, through a strainer of sheet bamboo,
into a receptacle below. The juice is taken from this and
cooked in large iron pans until it attains the consistency of
thick molasses, when it is ready for use.
Of late years some Bajaus in the neighbourhood of
Kotabelud have taken to growing a considerable acreage
of ground-nuts, having, I believe, learnt how to do this from
a few Javanese settlers who first started planting them.
The crop appears to pay well, and there seems to be a
possibility that more land may be utilised for this purpose
in the future. Indian corn is planted to a small extent, as
are also certain vegetables, chiefly French beans, cucumbers
and brinjals. Coco-nut palms, which bear well, and fruit
trees, such as belunoes, mangoes, memplums, pawpaws, limes,
langsats and bananas, grow round most villages, but receive
little attention.
Large herds of cattle and buffaloes roam the plains and
marshlands between Kotabelud and Pindasan, but no sort of
attempt is made at mating or breeding suitable animals, and
the herds are to all intents and purposes wild, except that
every animal has an owner. Young animals are ridden
down on ponies, caught with nooses and marked by nicking
the ear, or ears, each man having his own particular sign.
Cattle-catching affords an opportunity for a very fine display
of horsemanship, and shows the Bajaus at their best, for
they are, above everything, fine riders.
Agriculture, Hunting &^ Fishing 203
When an animal is required for riding, one is selected
from the herd, and a professional cattle-catcher is given the
task of catching it and breaking it in. If the animal is sold,
the breaker-in, according to custom, receives half the value
it fetches. Young bulls which are to be trained for riding
are tamed by being fastened up in the village with their
necks in a wooden pillory, consisting essentially of a couple
of posts, which allows fairly free movement of the head
vertically, but very little sideways. The same kind of
wooden saddle is used by the Bajaus as by the Dusuns.
A switch of three or four small rattans bound together at
the handle-end is used by both Dusun and Bajau riders.
Epidemics of cattle-sickness, possibly rinderpest, occur
occasionally, but I have never known one to attain very
serious dimensions, though I have had to isolate infected
villages once or twice. A few goats are kept in some
villages and quite large animals can be purchased for a couple
of dollars or so.
In the Bajau villages of the coast and of the river estuaries
fishing supplants padi-planting as the chief industry, and an
excellent supply of fish of all kinds is to be had for the
taking. The usual methods of catching sea-fish are by
small stake-traps (be/at), lines, seine-nets, casting-nets and
fish-spears.
Be/at are light stake-traps usually set close to the shore
in the shallow water of estuaries, many of them being left
dry at low tide. They consist of wallings of bamboo (?)
laths strung together and attached to short poles driven into
the mud.
The casting-net is very similar to that used in the Fen
counties of England for catching live-baits for pike-fishing.
It consists of a bell-shaped net weighted round the edge
with a chain of lead or tin and having a cord attached in
the centre which ends in a loop. In using it the fisherman
slips this loop over his left hand, and draping his right
shoulder and arm with a part of the net gathers up the rest
204 Agriculture, Hunting &^ Fishing
of it in orderly folds, partly into his left hand, partly into his
right.
In casting the arms are held almost horizontally, and bent
so that both hands are close together, the left being slightly
lower than the right ; both arms are then swung quickly to
the left in a horizontal direction, the body following them
with its weight thrown on the left foot. The part of the
net held in the hands is released and the arms are dropped
slightly. The net flies out, and falls on the water in a
perfect circle, but still remains attached to the fisherman's
left hand by the cord from its centre. The chain round the
edge sinks quickly, enclosing the fish within the net, and
if these are only of small size the net can be withdrawn
slowly from the water with the catch in it, for the fish are
prevented from escaping by the drawing together of the
heavily weighted net edges.
Large skates are often speared with a barbed fish-spear
consisting of an iron head, shafted with bamboo or wood,
the fish being visible at the bottom as the fisherman's light
dug-out canoe glides over the clear water of the shallows.
One kind of small fish much resembling the European
white-bait, which is called in Malay ikan bilis^ is a favourite
delicacy among the Dusuns, and up-country natives come in
numbers to the coastal markets to purchase these fish from
the Bajaus at the season when they visit the shores. King-
crabs {lAmulus) are frequently on sale in the markets, and
are sought after for their eggs.
A good variety of fresh and dried fish, molluscs — chiefly
kinds of clams and cockles — crabs and prawns are always on
sale, while turtles' eggs are not uncommonly seen. The
last-named are dug out of the sandy beaches where the
turtles lay them. " Giant clams " (Tridacna) of fair size are
found among the coral reefs in clear water and are eaten by
the Bajaus, but as I do not remember having seen them
brought to market, probably they are not considered
sufficiently good eating to be saleable.
Agriculture, Hunting &^ Fishing 205
Shells producing mother-of-pearl are obtained in small
quantities, and fetch a very fair price when sold to the local
Chinese traders, but among them there are usually very few
specimens of the pearl oyster {Meleagrina mar gar it if er a) ^
the majority of the shells being those of species of Trochus
{Trochus niloticus) and Senectus (Senectus argyrostomd). These
shells are collected more by the Orang Bernadan (Tawi
Tawi Islanders), who visit the coasts, than by the local
Bajaus. Quite large pearls are often found in the shells of
Tridacna^ and I brought one back from Borneo which is
almost as large as a sparrow's e^'^ ; but they possess little
beauty, being merely white and shiny, so that they are, I
believe, almost worthless, except as curiosities. It is of
those pearls that the wonderful stories of breeding small
ones are told by the peoples of the Malayan region, it being
often asserted that if one of them is placed in a small box
together with some grains of rice, after a time the mother-
of-pearl will be found to have produced young, while the
rice grains will have been broken at the ends as if they had
been nibbled by mice.
The Bajau regards agricultural pursuits and the trade
of fisherman — especially the former — as necessary evils to
be endured with stoicism, but it only requires the magic
word hunting to be whispered to rouse him to a state of
wild enthusiasm. Whatever may be his sins of omission
and commission, and they are many, he is certainly a sports-
man, and takes part enthusiastically in hunting, horse-racing
and other sports. It is this quality which, in spite of his
otherwise more or less undesirable character, finds him
a warm corner in the hearts of many Englishmen, and makes
them cherish a sneaking regard for him of which they are
half ashamed.
To see a Bajau mounted on his sturdy little pony, and
armed with a throwing-spear, galloping over the most break-
neck country in pursuit of a muntjac, locally sometimes
called the Bornean roe-deer, is a sight not easily forgotten.
2o6 Agriculture, Hunting &P Fishing
This style of hunting is fairly frequently practised on and
around the grassy and scrubby foot-hills near Kotabelud.
Though not numerous in such open country, an odd deer or
two of this species can generally be found in the folds of
the hills wherever there is scrubby cover, and especially
where a small stream of water is shut in by clumps of trees
and bushes.
Probably at a remote date all these foot-hills were forest-
covered, but felling for clearings and continual fires, both
intentional and accidental, have now, in the lower reaches of
the Tempassuk, driven back the forests from the foot-hills,
while virgin jungle is only found on the mountains which
tower above them. The lofty forest trees which once
occupied this area are now replaced by the very coarse and
persistent grass known as lalang, bushes of the so-called
Straits rhododendron [Polyanthema melastomum)^ and other
shrubs — indeed, except near springs and water-courses, it
seems doiibtful whether the trees could ever assert them-
selves again even should fires be prevented.
Some of the destruction of timber must, I imagine, have
been fairly recent, as several old men of the Dusun village
of Bengkahak, which lies in the foot-hill region between
Kotabelud and Pindasan, were agreed that the forests had
retreated considerably since their youth. I imagine the
constant grass-fires which the Dusuns light in the dry
season are partly responsible for this, as no doubt they
sometimes reach and attack the edges of the forest zone.
Clearings for hill-padi planting had, and have, also a great
deal to do with the denudation of the forests, but much less
in the foot-hills bordering the plains of the coastal districts
than up the valley of the Tempassuk, though here, when a
clearing is abandoned, a secondary forest growth, chiefly of
soft-wooded trees, rapidly springs up again. The lalang-
grass, as remarked before, is periodically fired, chiefly, I
believe, with the view of aflbrding fresh pasturage to the
herds of cattle, which obtain more nutriment from the fresh
Agriculture, Hunting &^ Fishing 207
young grass-blades than they could from the old and wiry
leaves ; but the fires also serve to clear the country of the
tall grass which makes travelling uncomfortable off the
beaten tracks, and to destroy the refuges of poisonous
snakes, especially cobras.
But to return to the Bajaus. A hunter is almost invariably
followed by one or more mangy and starved curs, his hunting
dogs, and in spite of neglect and ill treatment these are
often marvellously clever at driving out the game. Guns
being rare among the Bajaus, they are exceedingly keen on
joining a European, as hunting on horse or on foot, armed
only with a throwing-spear, though an exciting sport, does
not invariably result in a kill.
One common method of hunting is to surround a couple
of sides of a projecting and roughly triangular strip of
jungle with hunters on horse and foot, and to put in a line
of beaters, accompanied by dogs, at the base of the strip
where it joins the main body of the forest. The beaters
work down towards the apex and drive the game before
them, timely notice of the starting of a deer being afforded
by their curs, which give tongue freely. According to
native custom, the actual slayer of the animal is entitled
to certain tit-bits: his claim being satisfied, the rest of
the hunters set to work in a mob, slashing away the skin
and meat with their knives as if for dear life, and in a
marvellously short time little remains but the larger bones,
from which the meat has been cut away. For once in a
way the wretched curs eat their fill on the scraps, and
then the hunters make their way homeward laden with the
spoil.
Nominally a Mohammedan should not touch the meat
unless a prayer is said and the animal's, or bird's, throat cut
while it is still alive ; but a few muscular twitches would be
considered a sign of life, and I have heard of natives saying
that when shooting it is only necessary to say " Bis7niUah " to
sanctify the flesh for their use, thus avoiding the necessity
2o8 Agriculture, Hunting &^ Fishing
for throwing away game which has died immediately on
receiving the charge.
When a cow is killed for the feast the Bajaus can some-
times scarcely restrain their impatience until the wretched
animal has gasped out its last breath, and I have seen lumps
of flesh hacked from the bones and thrown into a heap
which still twitched and quivered for some seconds after
they had been severed from the carcass.
Snares and traps very similar to those made by the
Dusuns are also used among the Bajaus for trapping game.
Guns are now almost unknown in their hands, as since the
Mat Saleh and Kamunta troubles the British North Borneo
Government has absolutely prevented any natives, with the
exception of a few favoured chiefs, from obtaining weapons
of precision, while they were deprived of those they possessed
when the rising was put down and the country brought
properly under control.
CHAPTER XXII
DRESS, DOMESTIC AFFAIRS &> GOVERNMENT
BEING by nature a somewhat truculent and swaggering
scoundrel, the Bajau or Illanun is by way of feeling
that his clothes should give some indication of his
sentiments towards the rest of the world. The young men
especially like to add to the boldness of their appearance by
wearing brightly coloured head-cloths, stiffened with rice-
starch, and so tied that two or three peaks stand out
abruptly from the head. Gaily coloured trousers of narrow-
striped native cloth are also to be seen, which are baggy
around the waist and as far as the knee, but very close-
fitting in the calf, while long enough partly to cover the
instep. This kind of garment, which is without buttons, is,
I believe, of a type much worn in the Sulu Islands. It is
secured under the belt by folding over a portion of the
baggy top.
A bright-hued scarf, often made of two long strips of
differently coloured cloths, is thrown negligently over one
shoulder, and is used as a handkerchief, or for carrying
small articles. The full dress of young Bajau men is the
tightly fitting short jacket with embroidered facings and
two rows of silver buttons, the native-woven head-cloth and
japutangan (around the waist), the short and baggy blue or
black trousers, and the loose cloth worn over one shoulder.
The elder men do not sport the bright colours in favour
among the young bloods. Their usual dress is a pair of
loose Chinese-pattern trousers, often of black or dark blue
cloth, or of white calico, and a rather short coat of the same
material, which fits somewhat tightly in the arms and around
the chest, but is cut loosely below,
o 209
2IO Dress, Domestic Affairs &f Government
European singlets have of recent years come very much
into fashion among the natives, and are often worn without
a coat. The head-cloths of the older men are also usually
darker in colour than those of bachelors. Cheap foreign-
made belts are now in very general use, while the cloth
which is frequently worn over the shoulder, or a hand-
kerchief (saputangan) of native manufacture, wound round
the waist above the belt, contains the brass betel-nut box
which a native man invariably carries.
Personal jewellery worn by men consists of silver rings,
often of striking, though somewhat crude, design, set with
cornelians, rock crystals, or glass, and sometimes with what
I believe are natural crystals of iron pyrites. Coco-nut pearls
and those from the giant clam (Tridacnd) are also mounted
in rings, as well as bezoar stones, reputed to have the
property of absorbing the poison from snake-bites and
scorpion-stings. Hanging silver tobacco-boxes, shaped like
a watch, and possibly really derived from the old fat Dutch
watches, are rare, but are still sometimes worn, being attached
to the belt by a chain. Shell-bracelets, the manufacture of
which I have described elsewhere, are affected by both men
and women, and bracelets of silver also adorn the arms of
both sexes.
I learned, on the authority of a Bajau named Si Ungin or
Sungin, that in the days of yore long hair was commonly
worn by Bajau men, at any rate until they married, but it
is now exceptional to see a man with long hair in the
Tempassuk or Tuaran districts, and I can only recollect once
having done so. This was on the Sulaman Inlet, the man
in question being one of my boat's crew.
Bajau men are seldom handsome, and the same can usually
be said of their women, but what looks the women do
possess are spoiled by their fashions in clothes and hair-
dressing. Except, perhaps, on feast days, when clothes of
bright colours are worn, it would not be far wrong to say
that Bajau and Illanun women always look untidy. This
Dress, Domestic Affairs &^ Government 211
impression is given by the loose, shapeless and generally
sombre - coloured clothes which they wear, and the un-
beautiful way they have of drawing their hair tightly back
from the front of their head, tying it in a sort of knot
behind, and leaving a ragged-looking tail depending from
the knotted or coiled mass.
The everyday garments of the Bajau women of the
Tempassuk are a sort of bottomless sack of some sad-
coloured cloth reaching from under the arms — it is rolled
up and tucked in tightly over the breasts — almost to the
feet, and a pair of loose under-trousers, gathered in just
above the ankles. The bottoms of these can be seen when
the sarong is held up, or rolled upwards for walking. In the
Tuaran district the sack is worn without the trousers.
The freedom granted to the women is remarkable consider-
ing that the Bajaus and Illanuns are Mohammedans, though
this is probably partly due to the unorthodox behaviour
of their menkind, and their lack of knowledge of Moham-
medan custom. The women are even more untrammelled
in their liberty than their sisters of the Malay Peninsula.
They seldom, except on high days and holidays, wear any
cloth which can be used to veil the face, and respectable
women dance with men before a crowd of onlookers. I
believe, however, in spite of the freedom which they enjoy,
their morals compare very favourably with those of other
Mohammedan women, who are more closely guarded.
Native-woven cloths are seldom worn by the women.
The articles made in native fabrics are men's head-cloths,
handkerchiefs, cloth for coats and trousers, together with
garments called kain ampik and kain moga, which are of
thick material and in the form of the Malay sarong, though
they are used, not as the Malay garment generally is, as a
covering for the body between the waist and the ankles
by day or night, but as wrappers for the whole body either
at night or during chilly weather.
Gold ornaments are seldom worn by Bajau or Ulanun
212 Dress, Domestic Affairs &^ Government
women, since neither tribe is by any means rich, and wives
are kept in a state of poverty by the laziness and gambling
habits of the husbands. Round ear-studs, usually of silver,
more rarely of gold, are worn by unmarried girls, and these
are often remarkably pretty examples of goldsmiths' work.
Many of the old silver ornaments, sireb and tobacco boxes
and other articles, are of very fine design, and are, I believe,
the work of Illanun silversmiths, who at one time established
quite a reputation for themselves. Some of the old articles,
which can even now be occasionally picked up by a collector,
were, however, almost certainly made in Brunei.
Nowadays the Chinese silversmith is finding his way into
the out-stations and is beginning, or in many cases has
already managed, to shoulder out the native craftsman, who
is unable to compete with a specialist. Some silver-work still
finds its way from Brunei to the Tempassuk by the hands
of Malay traders, but the specimens are usually trumpery in
the extreme, the workmanship being rough, the patterns
degenerate and the silver of paper-like thinness. The
modern silver articles which I have seen brought for sale
by Brunei Malays were small, hollow silver buttons in the
form of a flower bud, and the somewhat coronet-like head
ornaments worn by brides.
In addition to the head-cloths which I have mentioned
above, Bajau and Illanun men, and sometimes women, when
on a journey or working in the fields, wear large sun-hats,
which they obtain from the Dusuns of the interior. I fancy
that one type of hat used by the Mengkabong Bajaus is
made by themselves. To these they frequently attach a
chin-cord of twisted yellow and red wool, the material for
which is obtained from the Chinese shops.
Perhaps the working-knife should be mentioned as part
of the native outfit, since, when he leaves his house, every
native, Bajau, Illanun or Dusun, almost invariably girds
himself with one of these useful weapons. The knife, in its
wooden sheath, is worn on the left side of the body, being
Dress, Domestic Affairs &^ Government 213
attached to waist-cords fastened in front by means of a
toggle, a Chinese cash or a Sarawak coin generally fulfilling
this purpose, or more rarely a disc cut from a Trochus shell.
The uses to which the parang is put are various indeed,
among them being clearing away weeds and undergrowth,
cutting firewood, opening coco-nuts, cutting up deer or
cattle for food purposes, and preparing materials for house-
building, while, if necessary, it becomes a weapon of defence
or offence,
Bajau villages may be built on land, over the water of
some estuary or salt-water inlet, or on the sea-shore, either
above or below high-tide mark. All the Illanun villages
that I have seen have been built on land. In any case the
dwellings of both peoples, like those of the Dusuns, are
raised on posts. Bajau or Illanun houses are never of the
communal type. Much of the household refuse is thrown
down through a hole in the floor, this being quite a sanitary
method of disposing of it if the house is over the water or
on the shore below high-tide mark, but by no means so on
land.
In spite, or perhaps because, of the absence of pigs,
those scavengers of Dusun villages, Mohammedan (Bajau or
Illanun) villages are usually a good deal cleaner than those
of the pagans. Nor do I think, though it breeds disease-
carrying flies, is the accumulated refuse directly responsible
for sickness among the villagers, since there is always a
current of air under the house.
A Bajau village is generally situated in a coco-nut grove,
where the trees belong to various owners. Scattered about,
too, are other fruit trees, such as mangoes and belunoes.
The rice-fields will probably be just outside the grove of
trees which shelters the village, and here, after the harvest,
the buffaloes roam about or wallow in the deep mud-filled
excavations that they make for themselves.
The houses of the village are walled and roofed with
palm-leaf attaps, and before some of the larger dwellings is
214 Dress, Domestic Affairs &^ Government
a platform — reached by a ladder from the ground — on which
clothes are dried and various household work is performed.
Male visitors to the house ride up to the steps, dismount
and, before entering, tie their buffaloes, bulls or ponies to
one of the posts supporting the platform. A Bajau house
usually consists of a single room with perhaps a cook-house
built out behind. A passage or gangway leads from the
door, which is near one corner, to the opposite end of the
building, the rest of the room being slightly raised above the
level of this to form a sort of sitting and sleeping dais.
Here is stored the family property, boxes containing
clothes, brassware (trays, sireb boxes, gongs, etc.), and here
also are placed the sleeping-mats and pillows, covered in
with mosquito nets suspended from some of the cross-beams.
In the houses of well-to-do men the top of the mosquito
curtains are sometimes ornamented with patchwork hangings.
The blending of colours in these is often quite pleasing, not
at all like the horrible patchwork articles so often seen at
home.
Brightly coloured dish-covers made of strips of pandanus-
leaf are placed over plates of cakes or other food set aside
on the dais, and perhaps some old brass cannons will be seen
tied up or supported against one wall of the house, cannon
in the old days having passed as legal tender, so that the
possession of a number of them indicated that their owner
was a man of wealth. A kris, a pida or some other native
weapon will very likely be hanging up against a post of the
house, and some of the women will be occupied in weaving
on their rather primitive looms the brightly coloured waist-
or head-cloths, for the manufacture of which the Bajaus
and Illanuns of the Tempassuk are held in such high repute.
The houses of the poorer peasants are often small and
wretched in the extreme, especially in the villages built over
inlets of the sea, such as the Sulaman or Mengkabong. The
type of house I have been so far describing is that of a native
chief, or of a man in easy circumstances ; such a dwelling
Dress, Domestic Affairs &^ Government 215
sometimes has a small upper room close under the thatch.
Here the girls of the family sleep, and during the day-time
occupy themselves in weaving cloths.
The flooring of Bajau houses is made of sheet-bamboo,
that of the outside platform — if there is one — of slats of
nibong palm wood ; the thatch and walls are of palm-leaves,
those of the nipa or the sago palm being generally used.
Two or three small windows illuminate the building, and are
closed at night by wooden flaps or shutters hinged with
rattan bindings to the upper part of the window frame.
Villages of any importance possess a mosque ; though, ex-
cept for the fact that the walling does not reach the thatch,
but is only carried half-way up, this does not usually differ
much in external appearance from an ordinary house.
The Bajau or Illanun villages are not so full of animal life
as those of the Dusuns, particularly those of the up-country
people, where grazing ground is limited, and buflaloes and
cattle make their way into the villages and even under the
houses. The Bajau's cattle, unless they are trained animals,
will be found among the herds which roam around the bases
of the foot-hills or on the grass plains of the Krah. The
absence of pigs, which I have remarked above, also detracts
from the liveliness of Mohammedan villages, and numerous
pariah dogs exist — I was going to say are kept — and on moon-
light nights give themselves up to the congenial employment
of baying the moon. No more mournful sound can be im-
agined than this chorus of curs all yowling together upon
the same note, and natives believe that when the dogs thus
"break forth into song" it presages the death of some
inhabitant of the village.
Some fowls are reared by most villagers, but they are not
usually so numerous as in Dusun villages. A few goats crop
the grass around the houses, and these, with some half-
starved cats with short tails bent round almost at right angles
a few inches from the tip — a variety peculiar to the Malay
region — complete the animal population.
2i6 Dress, Domestic Affairs ^ Government
In the villages built over the waters of estuaries or inlets
of the sea the small dug-out canoe or gobang replaces the
buffalo or pony as a means of conveyance from place to
place, and the visitor to a house ties up his canoe to a post
just as a man on land does his buffalo. Owing to the posi-
tion of their settlements, the Bajaus of these villages, as is
only natural, look to the sea and to the brackish water of the
inlets to provide them with a living rather than to the land,
though many of them have a few rice-fields.
Their chief occupations are, therefore, fishing, salt-making
and the cutting of w/)>^-palm leaves for use as attaps to
thatch and wall their houses. Where fishing is undertaken
on a large scale, boats of fair size {fakerangan or perahu
lembu) and seine nets are used, and the greater part of the
catch is preserved by drying it in the sun. A good deal of
this dried fish finds its way to market, where it is sold or
bartered to the Dusuns. Where less wholesale methods
are employed, the fish are either consumed at home or sold
fresh to the Chinese shopkeepers or to other natives.
Though making pretty pictures in photographs, especially
in the case of Mengkabong, where the houses are not
arranged in a regular line, these villages built over the
water prove on close inspection to be assemblages of most
crazy and dilapidated hovels. Still, here and there may be
seen a larger and better-built house, denoting that it is the
dwelling of some more prosperous native.
The Mohammedan natives have a great deal scantier menu
than the pagans, since their religion forbids them to eat pork ;
and such game as snakes, rats, squirrels, monitor-lizards,
monkeys and other Dusun delicacies are also tabu to them.
On the occasion of a marriage or other ceremony, or at a
religious festival, a buffalo or an ox may be killed, otherwise
the natives seldom eat meat, unless they can hunt down a
deer or a muntjac. Excellent fish is obtained on the sea-
coast, and the river fish are also quite eatable, so the Bajaus
and Illanuns probably do not feel the lack of meat ; but they
Dress, Domestic Affairs &^ Government 217
are very keen about it if they can get it for nothing, either
by hunting or by attending some feast. Rice forms the
staple article of diet, eked out with a little fish, some salt,
chillies, and possibly a few spices.
Cookery is most primitive, but the women know how to
make a few kinds of cakes. Coco-nut oil, generally made
by boiling the kernels in water and collecting the oil which
rises to the surface, is used for frying sweets, in native
medicines, and also for dressing the hair. Cane-sugar, or
rather molasses, is used for sweetening in native cookery ;
this is obtained by pressing the fresh canes between two
upright rollers in a mill worked by a buffalo and boiling
down the resulting liquid. Coarse salt is also made
locally, and I have described the processes of manufacture
elsewhere.
Nowadays life in a Bajau or Illanun village is very
humdrum compared with what it must have been formerly,
for since the young bloods are no longer at liberty to go
on plundering expeditions, which provided them both with
excitement and a livelihood, they are reduced by necessity
to the unpleasant task of having to do a little work in order
to live. The monotony of their lives, however, is somewhat
brightened by visits to the gambling farm, an occasional
hunting or racing party, cock-fighting, or perhaps a small
buifalo-stealing expedition. Their natural dislike for work
makes them but indifferent agriculturists, but they are
much better fishermen, partly because they are essentially
a maritime people, partly, I believe, because fishing,
with its uncertainty, contains some elements of sport and
excitement.
A fair number of Bajaus make a little money by trans-
porting on buffaloes goods for the Chinese shopkeepers,
the main traflBc of this kind being to and from Usakan Bay,
the fortnightly calling-place of the local steamer. Many
young men from the Tempassuk, attracted by the prospects
of handling ready money and change of scene, go to work
2 1 8 Dress, Domestic Affairs &^ Government
on rubber estates at Beaufort or elsewhere, and often do
not return for several years.
Crime in the Mohammedan villages is not serious, except
in regard to buifalo-stealing. Most of the cases coming to
court are trivial cases of cheating and petty stealing. While
I was at Kotabelud there were some rather ingenious thefts
committed from the Chinese shops, by means of a long and
slender rattan cane to which a few thorns were left adhering
near one end. An opium-sodden Chinaman would be lying
fast asleep at night in his shop on a bamboo platform behind
the counter, with a number of native-made head-cloths, vary-
ing in price from two to twenty dollars, hanging on a line
above his head. A thief who has observed the position of
the cloths during the day-time crawls under the shops at
night — they are slightly raised from the ground on posts —
and making a small hole in the bamboo floor, or utilising
one already there, pulls down the cloths from above the
Chinaman's head, and, having landed his catch safely,
quietly takes his departure, leaving his " fishing rod " behind
him as a souvenir of his visit.
Another method is sometimes used in stealing rice. The
thief, having observed that a sack of rice is stored in a
certain house, makes his way under the dwelling at night,
breaks away a little of the flooring — not a difficult task —
immediately under the sack of rice, and, cutting a hole in
the bottom of the sack, lets the rice off" into a receptacle
held below — his canoe if the house he is stealing from is built
over the river.
Offences against the person, assaults, woundings and
murders, are rare, though I once had to deal with a case in
which a man was stabbed through the floor of the house,
his assailant temporarily escaping. He was, however, event-
ually discovered by having all the weapon sheaths in the
village opened and examined for blood-stains. On doing
this, it was found that the inside of a kris-sheath belonging
to a young Bajau was caked with dried blood — the weapon
Dress, Domestic Affairs ^ Government 219
itself had been cleaned. When the prisoner saw that
there was strong circumstantial evidence against him he
at once confessed that he was guilty. The reasons he
gave for revenging himself on his victim were peculiar,
but were of such a nature that I can scarcely set them
down here.
The Bajaus and Illanuns of the Tempassuk at the present
day still acknowledge a number of chieftains, the highest
in rank being the Dato Takopan (Bajau) and the Dato
Temengong (a chief of importance among the Bajaus).
On the Mengkabong, and on some of the rivers along the
coast in the direction of Brunei, Pangerans (chiefs of the
royal blood of the Sultans of Brunei) are acknowledged as
overlords. In the old days petty chieftains were accustomed
to adopt very high-sounding titles, and to style themselves
rajas, but since the establishment of the Chartered Company's
rule the power of the majority of the native chiefs has
declined considerably, since the Company now appoints
"Government chiefs," who receive a monthly salary, and
are selected from the most trustworthy and energetic of the
native headmen. Thus, although a candidate of high rank
would be selected in preference to a commoner, all other
things being equal, there are now among the Government
chiefs men who have risen to the position owing to merit
rather than birth.
The head Government chief in the Tempassuk at present
is Haji Orang Kaya Kaya Mohamed Arsat (or Arshad),
a Banjarese, for long a Government clerk, who by many
years of faithful service, and by his conduct at the time
of the Mat Saleh rebellion and afterwards, won himself
the position which he now holds. He has very wisely
strengthened his authority over the Mohammedans, who are
always ready to respect a haji or Mecca pilgrim, by marrying
the sister of the principal Illanun chief. Futhermore, his
influence with the pagans is almost as strong as it is with
the Mohammedans, and his knowledge of native customs,
2 20 Dress, Domestic Affairs &^ Government
and of native ways, makes his assistance invaluable to a
young Civil servant fresh from home.
Another class of people who have a good deal of influence
with the Mohammedan tribes are Sarips, men partly of
Arab, partly of native extraction, who claim descent from
the Prophet of Islam. They are on account of this claim
naturally looked upon with great respect, and are considered
entitled to wear yellow, which is the royal colour.
In the old days, as far as I can ascertain, the majority of
the chiefs exercised but little authority over their lawless
followers, and any man who had gained a reputation by his
bravery, or by bluster and cajolery, was sure to attract to
himself a following of reckless freebooters.
The Illanun head chief traces his origin from the Illanun
magnates of Mindanao and is a descendant of Sa Tabok,
the pirate, concerning whom I shall say something in a later
chapter. Illanun chiefs have a peculiar custom of taking
(or receiving) more high-sounding titles as they advance in
years, thus a Dato may eventually end up with the title of
Sultan.
Some of the Bajau titles, such, for instance, as that of
Dato Temengong, seem to have been bestowed by the Brunei
royalty on petty chiefs, or men of some capacity who made
themselves useful to the Brunei Court, or to Brunei officers
who visited the country to collect duit buis (tribute) — exacted
by threats from some of the Bajau villages. The duit buis,
a sort of poll-tax, was given in kind, and in addition, when
the boat with the Sultan of Brunei's representative on board
cast anchor, the village had to contribute two pikul of brass,
and the same amount when anchor was weighed again.
Mengkabong, Inanam, Menggatal, Tuaran and the Sulaman
villages acknowledged the Brunei potentate as their lord
(chiefly, I expect, when they were overawed by a display
of force). According to Haji Arsat, who is my informant
with regard to these matters, one pikul of cannon (brass) was
at that time reckoned as being worth fifty dollars (Mexican).
CHAPTER XXIII
FOOD &- INTOXICANTS
THE Bajau's staple food is rice, as is the case with
the majority of the peoples inhabiting the tropical
and some of the sub-tropical and temperate regions
of Asia. Rice by itself would, however, be but a poor
diet, and so it is supplemented with vegetables, fish or flesh,
while in the tropics it is further helped out with seasonings
of spices, red peppers and other condiments. The Bajaus,
being dwellers on the sea-coasts and the lower reaches of
the rivers, are not unnaturally great consumers of fish ; and
they also supply the inland tribes from their superfluity, fish
being one of the chief articles they barter with the hill
people. Various vegetables are eaten, the commonest being
a kind of stringy French bean, brinjals, gourds and cucumbers,
as well as leaves of various wild plants.
The Bajau's women-folk make a few kinds of delicacies,
one of the commonest being penjaron, small round cakes of
native sugar, or molasses and rice-flour, which are sold in
the markets and, if fresh, have a not unpleasant taste.
Tapai cakes I shall mention below, and in addition to these
I have seen pierced rice-flour cakes in fanciful shapes taken
to the mosques at the end of the fasting month.
In spite of owning large herds of cattle and buffaloes, the
Bajaus, like the majority, if not all, of the peoples of the
Malayan region, do not drink milk, nor do they use it or its
derivatives (butter and gbi) for cooking. Animals are but
rarely killed for eating, and then only on such occasions as
marriages or feast-days. Venison when obtainable is eagerly
sought after, but pork, both from wild and tame pigs, is of
course forbidden to them as Mohammedans.
221
222 Food ^ Intoxicants
Coco-nut oil, obtained by boiling the kernels of old nuts
with water and skimming off the oil which rises to the
surface, or by pressing them, is used for cooking and for
many other purposes. In former days coco-nut oil was
burnt in the old Grecian-shaped standard or hanging brass
lamps, which can still be sometimes purchased in the villages,
but are now only used on occasions of ceremony.
Sugar-cane is planted to a fair extent, and from it is
obtained the brown molasses which enters into the composi-
tion of so many kinds of native cakes ; but it is largely eaten
raw, especially by the children. Indian corn is also grown,
and is baked or boiled for eating. Fruit is an important
article of native diet; fruit trees, especially mangoes, im-
palum^ belimoe, limes, jack fruit and others, are to be found
in most villages, while pine-apples are occasionally to be seen
on sale in the markets, together with pommeloes, large
orange-like fruits, which have been introduced, and are, I
believe, grown in one of the Ulanun villages around Fort
Alfred. Red peppers of various kinds form an important
condiment in both Bajau and Illanun cooking.
Tapai cakes, made from fermented rice, are commonly
eaten, and balls of rice-flour mixed with the substances
used instead of yeast are often to be seen hanging on a
line outside Bajau houses, where they are left until fermenta-
tion has set in. Tapai cakes are not unpleasant to eat, the
liquor from the fermented rice-flour tasting something like
brandy sauce.
Unhusked rice is prepared for cooking exactly as among
the Dusuns — that is to say, by pounding the padi, as rice in
the husk is called, in a wooden mortar until the grain is
separated from the chafl", winnowing away the latter in an
open tray-like basket, and washing the rice before cooking
in two or three changes of water.
Intoxicants are of course forbidden to both tribes as
Mohammedans, but though infraction of this ordinance of
their religion is not very common, a few Mohammedan
Food &^ Intoxicants 223
natives do, as I have already related, obtain drink from their
pagan neighbours on one pretext or another. Sophisticated
Mohammedans, both in the Malay Peninsula and Borneo,
even if observant of religious matters, will drink beer if they
can obtain it, and say that their religion allows them to do
so. I have heard them give various reasons for their in-
dulgence in this liquor ; all of them seem rather flimsy, and
suggest an adherence rather to the letter of the law than
to its spirit.
One man who likes it says that beer, not having been
invented in the Prophet's time, could not have been for-
bidden (the same might be said of whisky) ; another that it
is only forbidden to drink liquor made from any large plant,
such as the vine (on this assumption whisky would again be
exempt from prohibition) ; another that beer does not contain
enough alcohol to come under the interdict. The beers to
be bought in Chinese shops being usually diiferent brands
of light lager, the third reason for not abstaining is probably
the best.
Stimulants in the form of sireb, betel and tobacco for
chewing purposes are freely used by both sexes. Tobacco
purchased from the up-country Dusuns is smoked by the
men in the form of leaf-covered cigarettes, which taste
more of the smouldering wrapping than of the tobacco.
Opium is smoked by some Bajau and Illanun men, but
the smokers form a very small percentage of the males of
either tribe, though the Illanuns are more addicted to the
vice than the Bajaus: even in their case it is usually only
the chiefs who are opium smokers. Opium seems to have a
much more harmful effect on Malays and on other native
peoples of the Archipelago than on the Chinese. A Malay
opium smoker is almost invariably an absolutely hopeless
person to deal with, but the Chinaman, unless he be a very
old hand, who indulges heavily in the drug, seems to
experience very little damage in so far as his capabilities for
doing business are concerned, though an opium-smoking
2 24 Food &^ Intoxicants
Chinaman can usually be detected by certain bodily signs.
What the reason for this is I do not know. Possibly the
Malayan peoples have naturally more weakly constitutions
than the Chinese ; or the vice, being of more recent introduc-
tion among these peoples, has a greater demoralising eiFect
on them than on the inhabitants of far Cathay ; or the Malay
is more reckless in his indulgence than the Chinaman.
CHAPTER XXIV
LOVE,
COURTSHIP and marriage among the Bajaus are not
subjects about which I can write a great deal, though
I was once present at a Bajau marriage, or at any
rate at the ceremonies performed on the final day. The
number of wives which a Mohammedan native may take
unto himself — namely, four — is limited by Mohammedan
law, based, I presume, on the teachings of the Koran.
As among the pagans, Mohammedans pay a berian at
marriage, though this, instead of being looked upon as a
perquisite of the woman's relations, is frequently put by
for the benefit of any children who may be born, and held
in trust by the mother and father of the girl. The usual
berian mentioned in the case of a commoner is three pikuls
of brass (cannon). The pikul is loo katties (i kattie is equal
to 1 1 lb.). A pikul of brass was formerly valued at $50*00
Mexican. The present value is about $20*00 according to
Orang Kaya Arsat. At the present day cannon may not be
actually included in the berian given, cattle, buffaloes, gongs
or other brass-ware, reckoned to be their equivalent in value,
being received instead.
The portion, or portions, of the marriage ceremony which
I saw was the procession of the bridegroom to the bride's
house, escorted by a number of young men wearing krises,
and the whole, or part, of the actual wedding ceremony.
As I made no notes at the time I have to rely on my memory
of an event which happened some five years ago, hence
there may be errors in my description. The first part of
the ceremony that I witnessed in the house was a general
meeting of all those interested in the marriage, except the
p 225
2 26 Love, Courtship ^ Marriage
bride, who was not present. The terms of the contract
were recited and the husband publicly instructed in his
duties as a married man by one of the elders of the mosque
— the Imam, I believe. The rest of the performance con-
sisted of ceremonially putting the couple to bed and the
momentary appearance of the bride in order to sit with the
bridegroom before the assembled company; but I cannot
clearly remember which part of the ceremony came first — I
rather think the putting to bed.
The Bajau bride and bridegroom are lucky in not having
to endure the lengthy bersanding (ceremony) which Malay
couples have to undergo, both bride and bridegroom sitting
almost motionless, perhaps for hours together, while their
relations and friends come to pay their respects and make
presents of money. The glimpse we obtained of the Bajau
bride was fleeting, and I was told that she would not have
stopped as long as she did had I not expressed a wish to
see the bridal costume. I do not remember that the bride-
groom's dress differed in any important particular from that
worn by the average young Bajau on occasions of ceremony,
with, perhaps, the exception that he wore a kris, but the
bride's head was crowned with a kind of silver tiara, and she
wore a set of silver ornaments exactly like the guards used
by rich Chinamen to protect their long finger-nails. As far
as I can recollect, these are used on the right hand only, and
three of them form a set, the points of the thumb and second
finger not being covered. At any rate two sets which I
purchased comprise only three guards each.
Of course a Bajau wedding is an opportunity for a feast,
which is not likely to be ignored, hence there is always a
large gathering of villagers at every wedding. Matriarchy
obtaining to a certain extent among the Bajaus, the bride-
groom does not take his bride home to his father's house,
or immediately settle down in a dwelling of his own, but
stops for about two months with his wife's people, employing
his time, perhaps, during this customary domicile with his
Love, Courtship ^ Marriage 227
mother-in-law in building a house for himself. Before
marriage opportunities for courting are, I believe, not very-
numerous, in spite of the fact that Bajau women enjoy a
great deal of freedom. The arrangements for a marriage
and the manner in which the herian is to be paid are made
by the parents of the contracting parties.
The theory of matrilineal descent is not carried to such
lengths among the Bajaus as among some of the Malays
— e.g, the Malays of Negri Sembilan and, I believe, of
Menangkabau, where all land descends in the female line.
The male children inherit the land, cattle, buifaloes, ponies,
gongs, etc., while the women receive the household goods,
perhaps a little brass-ware — anything, in fact, which is used
by women only, such as sets of kulintangan or dulcimer
gongs, essentially women's instruments.
If a man dies leaving a wife and only young children, the
deceased's brother often makes an attempt to obtain some of
the property, and is frequently successful.
A rough wooden coffin is used at funerals, and, if I
remember rightly — I may, however, very possibly be in-
correct in this statement, as 1 write from memories of five
years ago — this has no bottom, being merely placed over
the body, which rests on a bier. Rough standing stones
are set up over graves, or sometimes wooden posts are used
instead. One post, or stone, is placed at the head of the
grave, another marks the position either of the middle ot
the body or of the knees. In the case of Illanuns of high
rank — for instance, the family of the head chief, the Dato
Meradan — a new grave has to be continually guarded, night
and day, for a period of a hundred days after the death has
taken place, a hut being built for the purpose of sheltering
the watcher.
While I was stationed at Kotabelud the wife of Orang
Kaya Arsat, the sister of the Dato Meradan, died, and the
Orang Kaya had to conform to this Illanun custom, though
he himself is a Banjarese. The watching must have been a
22 8 Love, Courtship &^ Marriage
very trying experience, and he seemed comparatively seldom
to install a substitute. The reason for this practice is that
a body-snatching spirit, the Berbalan, is thought to be con-
tinually on the prowl to plunder newly made graves, and,
judging by the Illanun's procedure, he has a particular desire
to disturb those of persons of good family.
Divorce among the Bajaus and Illanuns is given according
to Mohammedan custom, the third or final divorce being
absolute. In the Malay Peninsula a man who has finally
divorced his wife can take her back by getting her nominally
married to another man, known as a Cbina buta (blind
Chinaman), who then divorces her before she re-marries
her former husband. This absolute divorce may be given
in the first place. First divorce or second divorce (talak dua^
talak tigd) are less severe forms, and the husband may take
his wife again without ceremony, provided that this is done
within a stated time, while during that time his wife may
not marry another man. Should the allotted period have
expired, and the husband, having thought matters over
again, wish to take his wife back, he can do so, but must
re-marry her. Divorce does not, however, seem to be very
frequently resorted to.
CHAPTER XXV
MANUFACTURES
THE Illanuns, and especially their women, are makers
of articles of considerable beauty. The Bajaus of
the Tempassuk are much less skilled, but the
women are fairly expert cloth-weavers, an art which they
seem to have learnt from their Illanun sisters. Formerly
the Illanuns had a great reputation as silversmiths, but un-
fortunately the Illanun silversmith is now extinct, having
been ousted by the enterprising Chinaman. The native
worker in Malaysia is, owing to his methods, always at a
disadvantage as regards the latter ; for the Chinese crafts-
man is a specialist, who, when he is not working on orders
he has received from customers, is turning out goods for
stock, so that he may have something to sell when a possible
purchaser comes along.
Supposing you want an article made by a native craftsman,
the following sort of experience probably befalls you, the
article you want being, say, a brass betel-box. First of all
you must find out where there is a brass-worker. After
many futile inquiries you hear that there is one in a village
three miles away. Setting out for this place, and having
taken several wrong turns, you at last arrive at his house,
only to find that he is out catching a buifalo or has gone to
a village a mile or so away in order to visit a sick relative.
A messenger is sent to fetch him, and after a wait of a
couple of hours he arrives.
The next trouble is that he has no ready-made boxes in
stock, no metal from which to manufacture even one, and
no money to buy it with. This makes it necessary to give him
a money advance, and he then has to search for someone
229
230 Manufactures
who has some broken brass articles suitable for melting
up. The metal once obtained, he will work upon your
order in the intervals between padi-planting and fishing,
therefore you must not expect to receive the completed
article for a month or more ; but if you give him a free
hand and pay a good price, so that he is interested in show-
ing you what he can do, he will probably turn you out
a really beautiful piece of work. Unfortunately, unless
native craftsmen can be taught to specialise, it seems likely
that as a class they are doomed to extinction, owing to the
competition of the Chinese worker, and of the cheap and
shoddy imitations of native-made articles which are manu-
factured in Europe.
Probably cloth-weaving will be carried on in the Tempassuk
long after brass-casting, wood-carving and weapon-making
have become lost arts. The Bajau or Illanun young man is
extremely fond of dressing himself up in fine clothes, and
the article of clothing by which he sets most store, if he
possesses one, is an expensive native-woven head-cloth.
Some of these cloths, especially if they contain much
*' gold " thread, are priced at anything up to thirty dollars,
though the cheaper kinds can be purchased for a dollar or a
dollar and a half.
Tempassuk cloths have a considerable reputation outside
the district, and are exported to some extent to Tuaran,
where the Bajaus do not weave cloth, or even farther afield.
Many of the Bajau and Illanun women of the district spend a
great deal of their time in weaving these cloths ; and in some
villages, especially the Illanun settlements near Pindasan,
the clack-clack of the weaver's sword as she beats up the
last-placed threads of the cloth can be heard issuing from
every house. The man whose wife is a good weaver need
do very little work, but can live on the proceeds from the
sales of her manufactures, which she herself often peddles
in the local markets.
In former days native-spun cotton thread and native dyes
Manufactures 231
for colouring it were the rule, but now ready-dyed thread,
bought at the Chinese shops, is generally, if not universally,
in use. Since aniline dyes are used as the colouring matter,
and the thread is of rather inferior quality, the cloths now
produced probably do not compare favourably with those
formerly made from native materials, but even the modern
cloths have wonderful lasting powers, although the colours
are apt to fade and do not stand washing well.
Head-cloths and sleeping-cloths, about which I shall have
something to say presently, are artificially stiifened, in the
case of the former to make the ends stand up when tied.
To produce the stiffening, the dyed thread is immersed in
water in which rice-starch has been dissolved, and is then
wound on to a drying wheel of split bamboo. When it is
thoroughly dry it is ready for weaving. Thread for making
scarves for tying round the waist (saputangan — />. handker-
chiefs), or the cloth for coats and trousers, is not usually
stiffened.
The head-cloth (^justar or dustar) is always a square, but
its patterns vary according to the kind and quality ; some of
the most expensive varieties are profusely decorated with
flower and geometric patterns of different colours in raised
weaving, which at first sight might easily be taken for
embroidery; others, generally the cheaper varieties, have
lines of different colours running through a red or black
ground. Nearly, if not quite, all head-cloths are differenti-
ated into a centre and a border region, while in the cheaper
cloths the former is usually ornamented with bands of
narrow lines of different breadths and colours running
parallel along each side and intersecting near the corners.
These bands give the cloth a look which is rather re-
miniscent of a Scotch tartan, and the resemblance is often
further strengthened by the central part being cut up into
big checks by fine parallel lines running through it. Even
in the cheaper cloths the small piece contained between the
corners and the intersecting bands of the borders is usually
232 Manufactures
filled in with floral patterns in raised weaving, while in the
more expensive specimens the whole of the border and
central portions is almost solid raised weaving.
Two varieties of sleeping-cloth are made: one, the kain
noga^ is composed of either two or three pieces of cloth
placed edge to edge and stitched together. The majority
of these cloths are striped, and the stripes are worn
horizontally across the body, the longitudinal edges of the
compound cloth being sewn together so that it forms a sort
of bottomless sack like the Malay sarong : the wearer usually
draws the garment on over his head and slips it off over his
feet. When sleeping the whole body is wrapped up in the
cloth.
I was lucky enough to obtain one magnificent specimen of
the other type of sleeping-cloth, the kain ampik, of a most
unusual kind, which, considering the time that it must have
taken to weave, was a bargain at the price I paid for it
— four dollars, or about seventeen shillings. The borders
of the cloth were ornamented with a solid band of raised
weaving in different colours and gold thread ; the body of
the cloth was black relieved by a somewhat sparse arrange-
ment of yellow and white star-like flowers in raised weaving,
except for a strip of solid raised weaving about a foot wide
running from top to bottom. There are several varieties
of the kain a??ipiky but this band of pattern down the back is
its distinguishing feature.
This, a most wonderful piece of work, was decorated with |
small geometrical and other patterns in red, yellow, white -^
and gold thread. As every colour and division of the
pattern requires its own small needle-shuttle, or is simply
worked in by hand, it will be realised that the skill neces-
sary for weaving such a cloth must be of no mean order,
and the time taken to complete it many months.
Illanun cloth is of better quality than that produced by
the Bajau women, the weaving being finer and the texture
closer. This is, I believe, partly due to greater skill in
Manufactures 233
weaving and partly to the threads of the woof being better
beaten up with the weaver's sword. The loom used by
both peoples is only a little less primitive than that of the
Dusuns, there being no loom-frame proper beyond the cloth-
and warp-beams. The treadles are worked by strings;
there is a hard-wood sword for beating up the warp threads,
and a comb for keeping the woof threads in proper order.
Two other handicrafts in which the Bajau and Illanun
women are experts are the making of mats and* baskets.
Both are manufactured from the leaves of the screw-palm
or pandanus, cut into long strips, and some of the best mats
are of extremely fine texture. The round, squat and open-
mouthed baskets used chiefly for holding padi are also
excellent specimens of work, and are sometimes ornamented
with patterns in colours. Small two-piece wallets for hold-
ing tobacco, gambler, etc., where one section slips over the
other, and which somewhat resemble cigar-cases in shape,
are made from the same materials, and these too are
decorated with patterns in various colours.
Embroidery is not much used for ornamenting articles of
clothing, but I have seen some long mats with very nicely
worked embroidered corners at their heads, and embroidered
ends are sometimes found on the round and rectangular
pillows which are in general use. Small breast-pockets on
men's coats are occasionally embellished with foliate patterns
in red thread or silk, as also are ornamental false lacings on
the fronts of jackets.
Allied to basket-work is the making of covers for dishes.
These are in the shape of a truncated cone and consist of a
wooden framework, covered with broad strips of pandanus (?)
leaves running perpendicularly, which are dyed in various
colours and sewn to the frame. Ornaments, cut out of
pandanus leaf, either geometrical or in the shape of flowers,
are often stitched on the outside of the cover, especially if
the covers are used on the occasion of feasts.
The Bajau men of several villages near the sea, notably
234 Manufactures
those of Kampong Kolambai, near the Pangkalan Abai in
the Tempassuk district, are experts in making shell bracelets
and armlets. The cheapest kind is made from a species of
giant clam or Tridacna^ which the natives call kima, A
single valve of a large Tridacna shell will have a thickness
of an inch or more except near the edges. From the
selected shell — which must be an old one, as new shells are
said to be too brittle — a piece of suitable size is cut, and a
large hole is then roughly chipped out in the centre of the
piece. After this the edges of the embryo bracelet are rubbed
down with sand and water on a large stone. The same
block of stone, and the same part of it, being always used
for this purpose, a deep groove is worn in it, which helps
materially in the forming of the bracelet. The article,
having been brought to a regular shape, is smoothed and
polished, and when finished fetches about a dollar in the
local markets.
The finer kind of bracelet is made from a species of large
Conus shell, locally called sulau. The top of the shell is cut
off and treated in a fashion similar to that already described
for making Tridacna bracelets; but as shells of sufficient
size are difficult to obtain, and the material is brittle, and
therefore more difficult to work, full-sized bracelets of this
kind are sold for as much as three or four dollars.
Brass-casting and silver-work have already been mentioned ;
the former industry is still carried on by a few Ulanuns, the
method employed being the cira perduta process. The
chief articles now made are heavy rectangular sireh-hoxes^
often quite plain, or with only a few slightly engraved floral
patterns on the cover ; but I have seen some modern pieces
ornamented with large lozenges of copper inlay. The art
of brass-working is rapidly dying out, and very probably will
be actually dead in another twenty years' time. The prices
asked for large pieces of modern work are prohibitive, and
this probably militates against the chances of the art ever
being revived.
Manufactures 235
Very fine old brass boxes can be often picked up for a
dollar or two in the out-station pawnshops, these being
unredeemed pledges. The cast and chased ornamentation
on them is often extremely artistic, and their shapes are
pleasing. Certain types of these boxes were made in
Brunei, others, I believe, in the Sulu Islands and Mindanao,
but probably some few were the work of the Illanun crafts-
men of Borneo.
Most villages have a blacksmith, who is capable of turning
out very fair knives, spear-heads and other small articles,
but the making of waved or straight kris and sunddng
blades is now a lost art, if indeed such articles were ever
made in either district, of which I have no proof: in fact I
am rather inclined to think that the two commonest forms of
sword to be found in the hands of the Bajaus and Illanuns,
the barong or pida, and the sundang, which is locally called
kris, were mostly imported from Sulu. The long Illanun
sword, the kompilan, may have been made locally to a small
extent.
The Bajaus of the coastal villages carry on the manu-
facture of salt by rather a curious process, and trade the
finished product with the Dusuns of the interior. The
salt-maker collects large quantities of «//>^-palm roots,
which contain a good deal of salt, together with other
drift-wood gathered along the shores. These he heaps
together into a pile near his salt-making hut and sets fire
to them. When the fire is burning brightly he damps it
down with sea-water and heaps on more wood. This
process is repeated again and again for a couple of days
or so, until a large heap of wood-ash has been obtained.
The ashes are then gathered up and pressed down into
large funnels made of palm spathes, which are placed in a
row in a rack fastened between two posts of the hut.
Underneath the row of funnels is placed a small dug-out
canoe.
When everything is ready sea-water is poured slowly
236 Man ufac tures
into each funnel and allowed to percolate through the ashes
and down into the canoe. The process is repeated several
times till it is considered that all the salt mixed with the
ashes has been carried ofF, and an almost saturated salt
solution has filled the canoe. The salt-maker then starts
a fire in a fireplace consisting of two long parallel mud
walls, set near together and about three and a half to four
feet high, one wall being pierced at the base with holes set
at regular intervals, which allow of the fire being attended
to, and perhaps make a draught. The salt solution is then
poured out into shallow rectangular dishes made of palm
spathes, each about one foot six, or nine, inches long by a
foot broad. These are placed in rows transversely on top
of the walls of the range and the contents cooked until
all the water has been driven out. Just before the salt
becomes dry it is marked out into bars with a knife in order
to facilitate division of the cakes into smaller pieces. The
finished product is greyish white in colour, and each cake
has a browned or blackened crust at the bottom where it
has been in contact with the dish.
The making of pottery is in the hands of the women and,
though no potting wheel is used, very creditable cooking-
pots and water-gourds in reddish-coloured ware are turned
out. Some pieces are slightly decorated with patterns
produced with the aid of small wooden stamps, and are
given a coating of damar gum.
One other small industry is perhaps deserving of mention ;
this is the making of lime for mixing with the sireh-chew.
Lime is made by burning coral, the shells of saddle-back
oyster, or of other marine molluscs. At Tuaran pink lime
is often to be seen on sale in the local markets, but I am
unable to say by what method it is coloured. Both lime
and salt are largely traded with the up-country Dusuns,
but the latter sometimes make an inferior quality of lime
for themselves by burning fresh-water shells.
The amount of trading carried on by the Bajaus of the
Manufactures 237
Tempassuk is now not large, and is chiefly limited to the
bartering of fish, salt, sireh^ lime, Bajau cloths and a few
other articles with the peoples of the interior. In former
days they seem to have acted as middlemen between the
Chinese buyers of jungle produce and the Dusun collectors;
but as the country is now in a peaceful state the Chinese
are no longer afraid to attend the markets, and so deal
directly with the Dusuns, without employing an expensive
and generally untrustworthy go-between. Occasionally a
Brunei trader who does not wish to make a prolonged stay
in the district will commission a Bajau to buy a large
quantity of Dusun tobacco for export; but as the Bajau
generally is minus both money and most of the promised
tobacco when the Brunei man's boat puts in again, the
transaction rarely has a very satisfactory ending for either
party, the Bajau being harassed by the law, which is set in
motion by the Brunei, and the latter, if he ever sees his
money again, probably having to be content with somewhat
irregular instalments.
As the Bajaus have large herds of cattle and buffaloes,
and a fair number of ponies, quite a trade in them is
developing as the country becomes more opened up. A
large number of cattle for killing purposes are embarked
on the small local steamer for shipment to the towns every
time she calls at Usakan. Buffaloes are exported to the
Marudu district, where they can be sold at a good price
for work on the estates; but a fair number are also
purchased by up-country Dusuns either directly from the
Bajaus or from the Chinese, who buy animals from the
Bajaus in order to barter them to the Dusuns for jungle
produce. The best of the Tempassuk-bred ponies are
in fair demand locally, and also among the Europeans of
Tuaran and Jesselton.
CHAPTER XXVI
COCK-FIGHTING and racing, together with hunting,
which I have described elsewhere, are probably the
three amusements most in favour among the Bajaus.
The first is largely practised on every occasion when matches
can be arranged. During my residence at Kotabelud there
used to be cock-fighting every Sunday afternoon at the
Chinese shops. Here used to assemble numbers of local
Bajaus, some of the more sophisticated Dusuns, Chinese
shopkeepers and native policemen.
The matches had usually been fixed in advance and, in
most cases, the merits of the respective birds were fairly
well known. I have never seen artificial spurs among the
Bajaus, though they are used by the Dyaks of Sarawak ;
consequently the sport was not so cruel as it would have
been with these aids. Charms are largely employed by the
owners of fighting cocks to ensure the invulnerability of
their champions, and to cause them to inflict serious wounds
on their opponents. Ancient stone implements are thought
specially potent for this purpose, if the bird's beak and spurs
are rubbed with them.
An umpire presides at cock-fights, he and the owners of
the birds being the only persons admitted to the ring, which
is sometimes enclosed within a bamboo fence. The two
owners squat opposite to each other, holding their birds on
the ground between their hands, and after an involuntary
peck or two on either side, which they are forced to give
by their masters, at a signal from the umpire the combatants
are released and the battle begins. It is necessary for a
bird to run from its opponent three times before it is
238
Cock-fighting, Gambling, Amusements 239
declared vanquished, while it is comparatively seldom that
a bird who has once turned tail wins the fight. Each
match thus comprises three rounds, a round being terminated
by the temporary defeat of one of the birds.
On the umpire declaring the round at an end, each bird is
seized by its respective owner, and various measures are
taken to help it to recover its breath and strength; the
head and comb are washed ; the beak, mouth and throat
swabbed out with a feather moistened with water ; the crest
blown upon with the mouth, and charms surreptitiously
applied to the feet and beak. Both birds having been
fettled up, they are set facing one another for the next
round.
Sometimes a combatant which is very hard pressed will
run its neck between the "shoulder" of its opponent's
wing and its body, so that the birds are looking in opposite
directions over each other's backs, neither of them being
able to do any damage to his opponent. A "clinch" of
this kind is not considered fair fighting, and should it
continue for long the birds are seized by their owners and
again set facing one another. Accidental locking of this
kind often occurs, the birds looking most foolish and con-
fused, each trying in vain to get at his opponent, and neither
having the wit to extricate himself.
Yells of applause from the spectators greet the victor at
the end of each round, and on the conclusion of the match ;
while any clever piece of work with spurs or beak is also
greeted with a chorus of approbation. Bets are made
freely, but the giving of odds seems to be almost or quite
unknown, all wagering being in even money. Though it is
not really allowed at such meetings, as it sometimes leads to
quarrelling, a good deal of cock-fighting goes on at some of
the smaller markets, which are seldom visited by the police ;
but the most important matches and the largest number of
them are fought at Kotabelud, where some supervision can
be exercised.
240 Cock-fighting, Gambling, Amusements
Probably gambling takes rank even before cock-fighting
as a Bajau amusement. Since the establishment of the
Chartered Company's rule, gambling, as was the case until
recently in the Straits Settlements and the Federated Malay
States, has been made a monopoly, the right to erect
gambling-houses in townships and out-stations being knocked
down to the highest bidder, invariably a Chinese " towkay."
With the gambling monopoly go the monopolies for dealing
in opium or spirits and pawnbroking : in small settlements
like Kotabelud or Tuaran all three businesses are often
conducted under one roof, though a separate part of the
house or an adjoining shop is reserved for the gambling
establishment.
I have always been very much opposed to grandmotherly
legislation, passed by cranks and faddists, usually a small but
very active minority, who sometimes manage to impose their
will on the people of Britain and other countries, owing to
the majority being too lazy to band together to defend its
liberties. Furthermore, I believe that attempts to make
people good by law are seldom permanently successful, the
usual result being that a vice which has been rigorously
suppressed, instead of being controlled within decent limits,
is supplanted by another whose effects are even more
disastrous.
This does not, however, imply that I look upon the
gambling shops, where the Bajau squanders his wealth, with
any friendly eye ; but the reason for my dislike is not based
on Puritanical grounds. When Bajau gambled with Bajau
affairs were probably quite bad enough, and the discomfort
and damage caused to the community at large undoubtedly
severe ; but the loss of one man was the gain of another,
and the property or money staked still remained within the
tribe.
A much worse state of things is now prevalent ; the
Bajau's property and money go to enrich the owners of the
gambling monopoly; his goods are pledged in order to
i
n -^
%• s
A.
Cock-fighting, Gambling, Amusements 241
provide money to gratify his passion, the money obtained from
the pledging being lost in the gambling-shop, while he often
continues to pay interest on the valuable articles pawned for
years without ever being able to redeem them, except that
he may possibly take them out with borrowed money, renew
the ticket, and then immediately put them back again. The
property and wealth of the Bajaus thus find their way into
the hands of the Chinese, without their receiving any benefit
in return. The best that can be said of the matter is that
the gambling- shops are fairly conducted, though, of course,
the bank always, or nearly always, wins in the long run.
The pawnshops, too, in out-stations are often extremely
lenient with their customers, and I have frequently come
across instances where the broker has waited for a consider-
able time after he had a right to foreclose on a valued
article of property in order to give the owner a chance of
paying up the interest. But this was probably not entirely
due to kindness, as it would be more profitable for the
pawnbroker to allow the customer to keep the article in
for several years, perpetually paying interest on it, than
to foreclose on the pledge and sell it out of hand for a
comparatively small amount.
One game which is in great favour is played on a board
ruled into twelve squares, each of which has a different
character marked on it. Round this squat the gamblers and
the banker. The latter then spins a teetotum, which has
characters on its sides corresponding to those of the board,
on a plate, and while it is still spinning shuts it in under a
tin cover. The players, when the teetotum has ceased to
spin, put their stakes on the square or squares they fancy,
and when all have finished the cover is lifted and the
winning character — i,e, which is uppermost as the top lies
in the plate — is announced. The bank pays ten times the
stakes placed on the winning square ; the others are raked in.
Various kinds of card games are also played in the
gambling-farm, but these are private affairs among the
242 Cock-fighting, Gambling, Amusements
natives themselves, a small fee being paid to the manager
of the gambling-shop to allow them to use it.
Among the chief articles which find their way into the
pawnshop to supply money for gambling are heavy old
brass betel-boxes — often very beautiful specimens of the
brass-caster's art — old silver-ware and various types of
weapons. The very best weapons, with fine blades, large
ivory bird-shaped tops to the hilts and silver mountings, are
somewhat rarely to be found exposed for sale among the
unredeemed pledges, since they are regarded as heirlooms
by the natives ; and though there may be many of them in
the pawnshop, their owners nearly always manage to keep
the interest on them paid up and to renew the tickets
periodically. Nevertheless the pawnshop is a happy hunting- ;j
ground for those who have sufficient insight to be able to
admire the beautiful old brass-ware, while the less highly
priced native weapons and betel-boxes can be picked up
ridiculously cheap.
To obtain a good collection, perseverance, time and trouble
are as necessary for success as in most other matters. It is
quite useless to go once to the pawnshop and come away
grumbling that there is nothing nice in the place. Visits
must be paid periodically, say every fortnight, and before
long some beautiful specimen will be obtained which will be
more than sufi[icient reward for the trouble taken.
The very best weapons, even if obtainable, are, according
to European ideas, extremely expensive. The large ivory
hilt of one of these alone may, according to native ideas,
be worth anything from twenty to thirty dollars; and
sixty dollars (about ^7 English) would not be at all an
out-of-the-way price for a fine kris {sundang). Parang
ilang^ really Dyak or Kayan weapons, so-called krises with
fine blades but wooden or very small ivory hilts, and heavy-
bladed Sulu pida (sometimes called barong) can, however, be
frequently bought for anything from one to three or four
dollars.
Cock-fighting, Gambling, Amusements 243
The gambling-house in an out-station with a Bajau popu-
lation is generally crowded with natives the whole day long,
and I am afraid that besides the Bajaus some of the low-
country Dusuns, especially those of Tuaran, are rather
badly infected with the gambling fever.
Racing on ponies, buffaloes or cattle is also a very favourite
amusement among the Bajaus. When I was stationed in the
Tempassuk regular race-meetings used to be got up (if I
remember rightly) every Thursday on an open space near
the bridle-path which leads from Kotabelud to Usakan Bay,
while native sports arranged by Europeans, especially if
they include pony-races, are most enthusiastically welcomed.
The little native ponies, though extremely hardy, are given
practically no attention ; their rough coats are never brushed
or groomed, and great patches of hair are often destroyed
by the ravages of numbers of large cattle-ticks.
A saddle is frequently absolutely dispensed with; the
reins are of rope and the bit is a curious native-made brass
snaffle. I have seen natives riding in the most reckless way
during a race, apparently intoxicated with excitement : they
yelled, threw their bodies and arms about, and apparently
guided their ponies almost entirely with their knees, though
they now and then belaboured their steeds with a rattan
switch, a very effective little instrument consisting of three
or four small round canes bound together at one end to
form a handle.
An account of Bajau and Illanun amusements would not
be complete without some reference to native dancing, and
especially to the b^runsai, a form of dance which is, I believe,
peculiar to the Bajaus. In the ordinary native dances, in
which only one or two male performers take part, the
posturing motions so much in favour in Java and other islands
of the Archipelago are much in evidence.
In dances illustrating warfare a sword of the type called
sundang is placed on the floor, the blade and the sheath
being crossed. Round these the solitary performer, a man.
244 Cock-fighting, Gambling, Amusements
revolves to the music of gongs and drums. His arms, wrists
and hands are constantly in motion, and his body turns
slowly, while his feet keep time to the music with curious
half-stamping, half-shuffling steps. He is showing the
audience how strong and how bold a man he is ; the stretch-
ing of the arms in tense positions, the slow upward turning
of the palms of his hands, the defiant stamping of the feet
and the fierce air of the dancer all being calculated to convey
these impressions. The onlookers by this time have become
stirred up to a tremendous pitch of excitement, and yells of
applause greet every fresh posture of defiance. Suddenly
the performer shades his eyes with his hand — he has spied
an enemy. He seizes the weapon from the ground and
manoeuvres to gain an advantage over his approaching adver-
sary. He sinks to the ground and stealthily crawls towards
his imaginary opponent, who presumably is using identical
tactics. Finally there comes the dash into the open, the
quick stabbing of his enemy and the conqueror's dance of
defiance and victory. A clever dancer can so work the
natives up that they seem to lose all sense of the unreality
of the performance, while the air is rent with yells and
war-cries.
I once saw a very amusing monkey-dance performed by
two men who had stuck pieces of raw cotton on their eye-
brows and chins, the make-up being intended to give them
the appearance of >^r^-monkeys. Their antics were so
ridiculously comic that they " brought down the house," the
natives, another European and myself, being absolutely
incapable with laughter.
The peculiar Bajau dance called berunsai is preceded by
a musical entertainment, and sometimes by other dances,
which may last for anything up to a couple of hours, the
performance starting at about eight or nine p.m. and lasting
till daylight. At one berunsai which I witnessed the musical
instruments consisted of three large, broad-edged gongs with
large and projecting bosses of the kind called tawag-tawag\
Cock-fighting, Gambling, Amusements 245
two flat- faced gongs of the variety known as chenang or
chanang ; two double-ended drums ; and a set of nine
kulintangan^ small gongs arranged in a row on two strings
stretched from end to end of a long frame and played with
two little club-shaped pieces of wood in the manner of a
dulcimer. All these instruments were used in the pre-
liminary musical entertainment, the performers on them,
with the exception of the kulintangan, being men.
These gong dulcimers appear to be regarded as women's
instruments, and as every lady who considered herself an
accomplished musician took a turn at them, the performance
became somewhat wearisome. The large gongs, tawag-
tawags and chenangs, beaten by men or boys, are hung from
cross-beams of the house, the note of the former being
changed by grasping and releasing their bosses with the
left hand. The two drum-beaters sit cross-legged opposite
to each other, with their instruments upon their knees.
One end of each drum is struck with a small stick held in
the right hand, the other with the wrist and open palm
of the left hand. The music produced is by no means
unpleasing, but a little of it goes a long way.
When all the women have had their turn at the kulin-
tangan the bSrunsai proper begins. Some three or four men,
one of whom is the leader of the dance, make their way to
a space in the centre of the room which has been cleared
in readiness. They begin by walking round and round in a
circle, chanting slowly meanwhile, and inviting the women to
come out and dance with them. The circling is from left
to right, and there is no reversal of this motion throughout
the dance. More men join the circle, and after a decorous
interval, in which they make a pretence of overcoming their
diffidence, three or four women leave their sisters who are
sitting at the back of the room and bashfully approach
the men.
The latter then join hands, but the circle remains open
between the leader and the man following him. The
246 Cock-fighting, Gambling, Amusements
women enter the circle by this gap, and the leader of the
women grasps the scarf which hangs from the left shoulder
of the men's leader, the other women attaching themselves
behind her in single file. The men then begin to pay the
women all sorts of extravagantly Eastern compliments, each
verse being chanted by the men's leader and taken up by
his followers, to which the women reply that the men are
making fun of them. The pace becomes increased, a
regular step taking the place of the walk ; the circle is
entirely closed and the women move farther into the centre,
but retain their position with regard to the men's leader.
The men press their attentions on the women only to meet
with a sharp rebuff; and as the fire of sally and retort
becomes hotter and hotter, so the dance increases in pace
until the men are (supposedly) worked up to a great pitch
of excitement and the whole circle is revolving at a tremen-
dous rate, almost every step of the dance becoming a terrific
stamp.
Then the women, feigning to be frightened at the angry
passions they have stirred up in the men, relent somewhat,
and as their answers become less provocative, so the ardour
of the men also lessens in degree, till at length the dance
falls away into a slow step and finally into a walk, though a
slow chanted interchange of compliments and replies is still
kept up. Presently the dance again increases in intensity
with a quicker exchange of pleasantries, but only to die
away gradually as before. Thus the performance continues
till the early hours of the morning.
CHAPTER XXVII
RELIGION & FOLKLORE
NOMINALLY both the Bajaus and the Illanuns are
orthodox Mohammedans of the Sunnite sect, but
actually they are extremely lax in the observance
of the precepts of their religion ; not that their belief in its
truth is any way weak, but their ideas are somewhat similar
to those of the Peninsula Malays, who seem to reckon on
late repentance as a means of ridding themselves of the
burden of their sins. The Bajaus have the further excuse
that Mohammedan teachers of any erudition are extremely
rare among them.
The great mass of the people is illiterate, and therefore
not even books on religious subjects, written in Malay, can
be read by them. Of course even the literate Malay of the
Peninsula is unable to understand the Koran, although he
can read the Arabic, since the characters in which Malay
is now written were originally introduced by the Arabs who
converted so many of the tribes of the Archipelago to the
religion of the Prophet. He has to rely on the exposi-
tions of Koran teachers, and on pious commentaries in the
vernacular. So far as I know, no attempt has ever been
made to translate the Koran into any language used in the
Eastern Archipelago, and I believe that anyone making an
attempt to do so would be " excommunicated " for impiously
daring to tamper with the sacred book by translating it into
the common tongue.
The average Bajau man, at any rate in his young days,
seldom attends mosque on Fridays or keeps the fasting
month of Ramadan. All Mohammedan youths undergo
circumcision, but beyond this, and abstention from pork,
247
248 Religion &> Folklore
and generally from intoxicating liquor, their religion seems
but little to affect their daily life. The five daily prayer-
times are neglected, except by such as aspire to be
considered pious, and by old men who are preparing
themselves to pass into the next world.
Sharips — alleged descendants of the Prophet, of partly
Arab blood — of whom there are a fair number in the
Tempassuk, are, however, regarded with great respect, as
are also bajis or returned Mecca pilgrims, a fact of which
unscrupulous impostors have not been slow to take ad-
vantage. In one case a bogus holy man travelled about
the country, presenting the simple inhabitants with spurious
gold dinars (a Turkish gold coin), which he was careful to
inform his hosts were extremely old, valuable and sacred,
as he had brought them all the way from the holy city of
Mecca. As in the East a present calls for a present, and
usually a larger one than that received, the good man was
soon loaded with valuable property presented to him by his
grateful admirers. Unfortunately for him, someone at last
found out that the valuable coins were only gilt, and the
good man was arrested. The plea that he had given away
the coins, on which he depended for an acquittal, should
his trick be discovered, did not avail him, and, as far as I
remember, he involuntarily retired to a cell to meditate on
matters religious or otherwise.
Another form of imposition, which would flourish were
it not firmly suppressed, is the collection of alms (sedekah)
by religious impostors for the nominal purpose of enabling
them to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca. This sort of
cheating is not usually done by natives, but by scoundrelly
wandering Pathans and other foreign Mohammedans from
the towns, who have as much intention of going to Mecca
as to the moon, there being, of course, absolutely no
objection to a native who really wishes to visit Mecca
collecting locally. This form of cheating is extremely
lucrative, provided the culprit can escape detection, as most
Religion &^ Folklore 249
Mohammedan natives not only believe that they acquire
merit by helping a would-be pilgrim to realise his ambition,
but would consider that if they did not give such assistance
as they could afford they would be committing a serious sin.
One gentleman whom I had the pleasure of fining pretty
severely, and of sending back to the place whence he came,
was a self-styled convert from Sikhism. He came through
from Jesselton and Tuaran on a journey to Kudat to collect
funds, according to his own account, to enable him to
perform the pilgrimage; but previous to his arrival I had
been warned about him, and told that he had been for-
bidden to ask for alms on his journey. He came and
reported himself to me, and said that he wished to stop the
night with the Pathan cow-keeper who looked after the
Government herd of cattle.
However, he had hardly been a couple of hours in the
place when I was told that he had been begging. It
appeared that after having obtained several contributions
from Bajaus whom he met in the shops and elsewhere
he had gone into the nearest village and climbed up into
a house where there were only women at home, an action
quite against Mohammedan custom, and an outrage which
in some countries would probably entail the penalty of
death. Here he had demanded sedekah, and had continued
to press his demands although the women asked him to
return when the owner of the house was at home, promising
him a substantial sum. Finally they gave him what money
they could, and he then began to grumble, saying that it
was not fitting that so large a house should make so small
a contribution. This was, of course, another offence, since
alms, however small, should be received with gratitude.
Ramadan, the fasting month, is ushered in among the
devout by an epidemic of spitting, for the orthodox will
not swallow anything from sunset to sunrise, their own
saliva included. This continuous fusilade of expectoration
is rather apt to get on the nerves at first, especially as the
250 Religion &^ Folklore
performers seem to want to accomplish their object with
the maximum amount of noise, possibly in order to show
forth their piety.
Hari Raya (the Great Day), the first day of Shawal, the
month succeeding Ramadan, and therefore the first day on
which those who have been fasting may take food and drink
during the day-time, is a general occasion for feasting and
rejoicing. The finish of the fast at about six o'clock on the
last day of Ramadan is ushered in with the firing of small
cannon and Chinese crackers, the din and smell of gun-
powder in particularly pious neighbourhoods being often
appalling. No doubt fasting is a severe trial, as, although
food is plentifully partaken of at night, not even water may
be touched during the day-time, a serious deprivation in a
hot country; and of course chewing sireb or smoking are
equally forbidden.
Among those who do attempt to observe the fasting
month some do not persevere till the end, and others,
though I believe this is not frequently the case in the
Tempassuk, take both food and drink by stealth, in order
that they may acquire an undeserved reputation for piety.
The Bajau or Illanun mosque is usually a slight house-
shaped building with a palm-leaf attap roof and side-walls
reaching only half-way to the eaves. The walls are also of
attaps, and one end of the building, which has a niche in
the wall, faces towards Mecca. The faithful are called to
prayers by beating a large single-ended drum with a long
body, made from a section of hollow tree-trunk. The drum
is often suspended in the building. Some of the villages of
the Sulaman Inlet have mosques built over the water.
The officers of the mosque are the Imam or priest, the
Khatib, who acts as reader, and the Bilal, who calls the
faithful to prayers. The man who performs the rite of
circumcision is known by the title of Mudin.
Undoubtedly both the Bajaus and Illanuns, being but lax
Mohammedans, still cherish many superstitions, relics of an
Religion &^ Folklore 251
older form of religion, which would be denounced as heathen
by more orthodox followers of the Prophet ; but to my
mind their religious ideas are interesting just so far as their
Mohammedanism is bad, or perhaps better, so far as their
earlier animistic beliefs survive. I must, however, plead
guilty to having done but little work on this subject, as I
had so many more subjects for investigation among the
Dusuns, and so little leisure in which to make inquiry, that
I thought it useless to spend my time in attempting to
gather remnants of beliefs, many of which had received a
Mohammedan veneer of respectability.
In several cases, when taking down folk- tales from Bajaus,
I have been annoyed to find, after I had been writing for
some time, that I was getting stories of the doings of the
Prophet or some of his followers — narratives which, of
course, were not native to the soil of Borneo. In fact I
almost gave up trying to collect Bajau stories for this reason,
and I am afraid I somewhat hurt the feelings of a Bajau
who was frequently at my house in company with a Dusun
friend of mine owing to the marked preference I gave to
the tales of the latter.
One of the chief non-Mohammedan rites practised by the
Bajaus, and also by the Dusuns, is the yearly launching of
small rafts or boats with oiferings on them, in order to bear
away from the village troublesome spirits which are supposed
to have assembled on the raft to partake of the offerings.
Similar rafts are made use of in the Malay Peninsula, and
are generally called anchak lanchong\ but here, I believe,
they are now chiefly set adrift in times of sickness.
The practice of medicine among the Bajaus is a good deal
mixed up with magical performances, while texts from the
Koran, either written on paper or repeated, and much less
orthodox recitations are used as charms, but I had not the
time to dip deeply into the subject. Blowings with the
mouth on the part affected are also employed to relieve pain
by the old men who are reputed to be skilled in medicine.
252 Religion &^ Folklore
Small flags, generally of white cotton stuff, are sometimes
to be seen hung outside houses where someone is lying ill :
they are possibly placed there with the intention of keeping
away evil spirits.
I was told of one rather peculiar remedy which is some-
times employed when a child is thin and has a poor appetite.
Should the parents hear that a crocodile has been caught
near any of the neighbouring villages, the child is taken to
the spot and its hand placed in the dead animal's mouth.
The idea is that, as the crocodile is extremely voracious,
a good appetite will be induced in anyone whose hand is
placed in contact with its mouth.
CHAPTER XXVIII
WEAPONS &> WARFARE
AS I think I have mentioned elsewhere, both Illanuns
and Bajaus are by nature truculent swashbucklers.
Owing to their overbearing demeanour, rather than
to their bravery — though they are sometimes distinguished
by a sort of reckless daring — they easily imposed themselves
as superiors on the generally timid and unwarlike pagans.
Being essentially predatory tribes, the manufacture of
implements of warfare has naturally attained some degree
of development among them; and, with a few exceptions,
such as the blow-pipe and the gayang or parang ilang^ all
the kinds of weapons to be found in the hands of the
pagans are also in use among the Bajaus and Illanuns, who
were either their makers, or at any rate the middlemen
through whom they reached the hands of their neighbours.
Since the manufacture of weapons of war is now to all
intents and purposes a lost art among the coastal peoples, it
is rather difficult to ascertain with any certainty which of
the present weapons were made locally, especially as many
types have a fairly wide distribution. Besides this, the
Tempassuk district seems to be on the border-line between
two cultures, southern and western and northern and eastern,
the former being propagated from Brunei, the latter from
the Sulu Islands and Mindanao.
Thus some of the weapons in use, such as the Malay
kris proper, and probably the " Crusader " sword, or pedang^
were introduced from Brunei ; while the long Illanun sword,
the kompilan^ with its curiously carved and flattened handle,
and its blade, narrow near the hilt, but broad and heavy
at the point, came from Mindanao, the place of origin of
253
2 54 Weapons &^ Warfare
the Illanuns themselves. Types of handle and blade some-
what similar to that of the kompilan are, however, found in
islands farther to the east, notably Celebes and Timor.
(See British Museum Handbook to the Ethnographical
Collections^ p. 94, {U) and (r).)
The kind of sword or dagger locally termed kris, but
called sundang or s^rundang by the Malays of the Peninsula
and of Sumatra (which, if we are to accept them as
authorities, is not a kris at all, the Malayan kris being used
only as a stabbing and thrusting weapon), and the sundang for
cutting, slashing and stabbing, present rather a difficult
problem as to their place of origin. Specimens of this type
of weapon are fairly commonly to be found in the Malay
States of the Peninsula and I believe in Sumatra also, while
they are probably the weapons most in use among the
coastal peoples of our two districts and according to report are
derived from the Sulus. (See British Museum Handbook to
the Ethnographical Collections^ p. 95, where a specimen from
Sulu is figured.) Possibly the sundang may have been intro-
duced into the Peninsula and Sumatra by the pirates and
traders who annually visited these waters from Borneo and
Mindanao.
Another weapon which bids fair to rival the kris
{sundang) in popularity is the pida or barong^ also a Sulu
weapon.
The companion of the kompilan or the long Illanun sword
is a peculiar type of shield called klasug. This stands about
four feet high, is about one foot six inches broad, and has
a peculiarly shaped boss. As far as I have been able to
ascertain — for specimens are difficult to obtain nowadays —
the Bajau shield was generally circular and made of wood,
but I believe that more rarely rattan shields like those of
the up-country Dusuns were to be found among the tribe.
No doubt, however, weapons and shields of almost any type
made in this part of Borneo, or in those neighbouring
countries with which there was much intercourse, were in
Weapons &^ Warfare 255
use among the lowlanders, both Mohammedans and pagans,
since I have had a klasug brought for sale to me by a
Dusun and a kompilan by a Bajau.
True krises of the Malay or Javanese types seem to be
uncommon, and are usually much prized. The value of
a Sulu kris (sundang) is estimated partly on the workman-
ship of the blade, but much more on the material from which
the hilt is made. Weapons of this type, with quite good
blades and wooden hilts, can be picked up very cheaply;
but a specimen with a fine blade, silver mountings and a
large ivory handle will command anything up to seventy
dollars or more. The art of damascening the blades of
weapons, which formerly flourished in Sumatra, Java and
the Malay States, seems never to have been developed
in the part of Borneo with which I am acquainted ; and
with the exception of the blades of a few weapons (mostly
Malay type krises) which were obviously of foreign origin,
I never remember having seen this method of ornamentation
employed.
The Bajaus and Illanuns appear to have formerly used
brass chain-mail coats and some kind of brass helmet, which
was called atub-atub and very possibly copied from those
worn by the Arabs. I made many endeavours to obtain
a specimen of each of these articles, but always without
success. As far as I could ascertain, some European on
a plantation near Kudat had formerly offered such high
prices for them that the local stock, never very large, was
quite exhausted. Padded and quilted coats ornamented
with embroidered texts in Arabic characters, which probably
had a talismanic use, were also sometimes worn under the
coat of mail.
Spears of various types, which may be used either for
stabbing or throwing, are largely used at the present day
in hunting. When not in use their heads are protected
by a wooden sheath, the two portions of which are bound
together with rattan cane. 1 was lucky enough to obtain a
256 Weapons &^ Warfare
rare kind of spear which was described to me as being only
used by chiefs. Its pecuharity lies in the fact that about a
foot in the middle of the shaft is covered with the long and
delicate feathers of some kind of bird, but it is also decorated
just below the blade with a beautifully worked silver mount.
I believe that the use of this weapon was ceremonial, and
that it was carried before a chief as a sign of rank, just as
the short spears ornamented on the shaft with bunches of dyed
vegetable fibre and known as tombak b^nderang are to the
present day borne before Malay Sultans on occasions of state.
Brass cannon, chiefly of the varieties known as lela and
rantuka^ are still to be found stored away in many Bajau
and lUanun houses, especially those of men of importance.
The majority of these weapons were cast either in Brunei or
Sulu. Little toy cannon of the same metal are also some-
times met with. These were, I believe, and possibly still
are, used for firing blank charges on festive occasions, as, for
instance, at the end of the Ramadan fast.
The weapons of the Bajaus and Illanuns were utilised
partly against the neighbouring pagan tribes, whom they
seem to have oppressed very badly; partly against native
or even European shipping ; and, as I have mentioned else-
where, the Illanuns were feared as far away as the coasts of
the Malay Peninsula. The Bajaus' reputation as sea-robbers
was only second to that of the Illanuns', the word "Bajau"
being almost synonymous with pirate.
Abdullah, a Malay miinshi (teacher) who lived at Singa-
pore and was somewhat of a protege of Raffles and other
of the earliest administrators of that settlement, paid a visit
to the east coast of the Peninsula, and in his Pelayaran
Abdullah ("Abdullah's Voyage"), which he wrote in 1852,
he gives us some idea of the fear inspired by the Illanuns
in Pahang, Trengganu and Kelantan; indeed he fell in
with a pirate prahu, apparently Illanun, at the mouth of
the Kelantan river, but was fortunate enough to escape
molestation on account of his having business with the raja.
Weapons &^ Warfare 257
He draws a picture for us of the pirate chief standing up
in the prahu, a throwing-spear grasped in his hand, "his
moustache on one side trained over his ear, on the other
wound on his neck." He also remarks that the rover's
followers were dark-skinned and sturdy, but gives us no
description of the craft he owned.
Some details about the Illanun and Bajau pirates are given
in the Papers relating to Piracy (Borneo) presented to the House
of Commons by Command of her Majesty^ April 18^0^ and in
Piracy {Borneo), Copies of Extracts of any Dispatches relating
to the Suppression of Piracy off the coast of Borneo. One of
the most interesting references to the Illanuns which I have
come across in looking through these is to be found in the
extracts from the Historical Notices upon the Piracies committed
in the East Indian Archipelago, by Jhr. J. P. Cornets de
Grott, Secretary-General to the Minister for the Colonies
(Dutch), of which the original French and an English
translation are given.
Speaking of the Illanuns, he says : " The pirates of
Magindano or Illanoun, one of the Philippine Isles, commonly
called Magindanais and Lanounais, incessantly annoy the Isle
of Bintang, and the islands in the vicinity of the latitude of
Linga, as well as those situated between Borneo and the
Peninsula of Malacca — namely, Poeloe Auwer, Siantan,
Boengoeran, Poeloe Tingi, Poeloe Laut and Tammelan.
** In the middle of the month of April they generally quit
their retreats, and proceed along the eastern and western
coasts of Borneo, on the side of the Banka and Billiton
Strait, where they arrive about the commencement of May.
Their fleet is separated into small divisions, which hasten to
commit their depredations upon the eastern coast of Sumatra,
as far as Reteh, in the waters of Linga and Bintang, and
amid the groups of islets which reach as far as Cape
Romania. Towards the month of June the pirates generally
unite together at Poeloe Tingi, where they seize many of
the vessels belonging to Pahang, Trenganoe, Kembodja, and
258 Weapons df Warfare
Kelambang in the Peninsula of Malacca. In September
and October they quit these latitudes in order to retire
to their haunts. During their return they still find time
enough for plundering the coasts of the Isles of Siantan,
Poeloe Laut and Tammelan.
"The largest kind of prahus are defended by double
nettings, and have from 50 to 80 men on board. They
have two rows of oars, each of 30, and are armed at the
head with 2 powerful guns of from 6 to 8, besides 6 or 8
lilla or swivels."
In another place he says : " Under the name of Lanouns,
we include the pirates of Magindano, Suloo, and some places
in the neighbourhood of Borneo, as Tuwara, Tumbassa,
Mangkabo.
"No fewer than 100 vessels are fitted out at Magindano
and Suloo, 50 at Tuwara, 20 at Tumbassa and 20 at
Mangkabo \j,e, Tuaran, Tempassuk, Mengkabong] ; 5 or 6
are actually sent out from Sumroka to Borneo, properly
so called [/>. the territories of the state of Brunei], near
Tanjong Datoe."
A few other quotations from correspondence to be found
in these papers may also be of interest : —
"Subsequent to the departure of her Majesty's ship
Samarang from Brune in the month of October 1844, one
of the first measures of the Raja Muda Hassim, on assuming
the reins of Government, was an intimation to Sheriff
Hausman of Malludu [or Marudu] and to the Illanuns of
Tempassuk of his treaty with her Majesty's Government
for the suppression of piracy, warning them to desist, and
ordering them on no account to visit or to trade with Brune
whilst they continued to pirate."
[Mr Brooke to the Earl of Aberdeen
Singapore, 7,1st March 1845.]
" The pirates on the coast of Borneo ^lay be classed into
those who make long voyages in large heavy-armed prahus.
Weapons ^ Warfare 259
such as the lllanuns, Balanigni, etc., and the Hghter Dyak
fleets which make short but destructive excursions in swift
prahus. . . .
*'The next pirate horde we meet with is a mixed com-
munity of Illanuns and Bajows (or sea gipsies), located at
Tempassuk, a few miles up a small river [possibly the
Pindasan]. They are not formidable in number, and their
depredations are chiefly committed on the Spanish territory.
They might readily be dispersed and driven back to their
own country, and the Dusuns or villagers (as the name
signifies) might be protected and encouraged."
(Memorandum with the above)
The Bornean pirates were largely put down in the years
1844 to 1849 ^y ^^^ E. Belcher in command of H.M.S.
Samarang and Captain the Hon. H. Keppel in command of
the Dido^ but in the Return of Bounties paid for the Capture
and Destruction of Pirates in the same papers there is an
entry of Illanun pirates, subjects of the Sultan of Sulu, being
captured off Trengganu by H.M.S. Wolf 3ls early as 1839,
while the taking of Malay pirates, some of whom may have
been Illanuns, is recorded as early as 1837. Keppel was
afterwards Admiral, and till his death a Director of the
British North Borneo Company. He gave his name to
Province Keppel. Much good work in suppressing piracy
was also done by the Dutch, but this was chiefly elsewhere
than on the north-west coast of Borneo.
In 1846 vigorous action was taken against the pirates in
the Tempassuk, as is set forth in the journal of Captain
Mundy (^Events in Borneo^ Celebes^ and Labuan)^ who was in
charge of the /r/V, which together with the Agincourt, the
Hazard^ the Phlegethon^ the Spiteful^ the Dcsdalus^ the
Ringdove and the Royalist took part in the expedition, Rear-
Admiral Sir Thomas Cochrane, who had hoisted his flag on
the Agincourt^ being in command. This fleet, after dealing
with the Dyak pirates in Sarawak and capturing the city of
26o Weapons ^ Warfare
Brunei, the Sultan of which had murdered all those of his
relations who were friendly to the British, proceeded along
what is now the coast of British North Borneo, and anchored
near Gaya Island, at the mouth of the Mengkabong river,
and at Ambong, at which place they found that the
flourishing village, visited and described by Sir Edward
Belcher only two months before, had been reduced to
ashes by lUanun pirates in revenge for the help the in-
habitants had afforded to the British by selling them cattle
and provisions.
On 30th July the squadron had arrived at Ambong. On
the 31st, on rounding a promontory, a large prahu, which
Mr Brooke, who was with the expedition, immediately
recognised from its peculiar build to be a war-boat of the
Illanuns, was seen pulling at top speed towards the Tem-
passuk river, and chase was given. To quote Captain
Mundy's own words :
" The Phlegethon soon got between him and the shore,
three boats were sent after him, and possession taken with-
out resistance, for formidable as those pirates are, from
their number and ferocity, no wonder they were appalled
at the sight of the squadron now before them. The boat
was sixty feet long, and carried one long twelve-
pounder, and two brass six-pound swivels. She was rigged
for sixty oars, with regular boarding nettings, but had
only twenty men and the captain on board, the stern-
sheets being occupied by a large bier, on which was placed
a massive teak coffin, handsomely ornamented. When the
chief was brought prisoner on the quarter-deck, and asked
to what nation he belonged, and why he was so crowded
with arms (she was full of kampelans — i.e. large double-
handed swords — spears and krises), he said at once :
" * I am an Illanun and a pirate chief. I sailed from hence
with four other vessels on a cruise. One of the officers
died, and with a portion of my crew I am now bringing him
to his home for decent burial.'
Weapons &^ Warfare 261
" On being asked if the officer died a natural death, he
replied: 'Yes.'
" Orders were then given to open the coffin, when lo !
there lay the remains of a body evidently slain in battle, or
after a desperate struggle, but a few days before. A large
sabre-cut extended across the forehead, and the chest and
thighs were also desperately maimed. The pirate chief now
became so enraged at this exposure that he boldly stated
he had told a lie, and admitted that they had had an engage-
ment with some of the Balanini war-boats, which they had
driven off, but an officer being killed, he was, according to
their custom, brought back for interment. It was about
this time that a Spaniard, who had been released from
slavery by Sir Thomas Cochrane on his visit to Brune last
year, and was now on board the Phlegethon^ recognised
among the crew the man who had made him prisoner, and
had murdered the master of the Spanish vessel to which he
belonged, while resisting the pirates' attack : shortly after-
wards on examining the prahu, two other Spaniards came
forward, declaring that they had been taken off the Manilla
coast, and had since been compelled to labour as slaves on
board the pirate prahus."
Captain Mundy then goes on to tell how, on an attempt
being made to handcuff the lUanun chief, he, followed by
all his people, jumped overboard, and attempted to gain the
shore by swimming. They were, however, cut off and
captured, and when brought aboard again were put in irons.
On the same day the Admiral and Mr Brooke, " protected
by the armed boats of the Agincourt^'^ went ashore and
interviewed Sa Tabok, the lUanun raja. They reproached
him for having broken the arrangements entered into the
year before, and for attacking "the peaceful town of
Ambong." He was finally given twenty-four hours to con-
sider, being warned that if at the end of that time he and
his chiefs did not come to the Aglncourt and give ample
guarantees for their future good conduct, his village would
262 Weapons ^ Warfare
be attacked and destroyed. Sa Tabok admitted that he had
broken his promises, but he would not say whether he
would come to the Agincoiirt and give the pledges required.
On the next day, no signs of submission being shown,
Captain M'Quhae of the Dadalus^ with a force of two
hundred and fifty seamen and marines, was " sent into the
river, with orders to destroy the war boats and canoes,
unless the chiefs oiFered terms of submission." They, how-
ever, found the place deserted, so all the war canoes and the
principal buildings were burned. While the burning was
proceeding the Illanuns were seen in the distance " brandish-
ing their spears in defiance, and the chiefs on horseback at
the edge of the jungle slowly moving backwards and for-
wards watching the ruin of their stately dwellings." But I
should scarcely call " stately " a word which could be applied
to any Illanun building.
On the same day Captain Mundy was ordered to head
another expedition to deal with the pirates of the Pandassan
(Pindasan) river, ^'ten miles to the north-east of the
Tempassuk," arrangements being made for the visit to
be paid on the following day (2nd August). Starting at
daylight in the Phlegethon (a steamer belonging to the
Honourable East India Company), in which the commander-
in-chief had hoisted the flag, and with the gun-boats of
the Iris and Ringdove in tow, the expedition anchored oif
the mouth of the Pindasan river, a notorious haunt of the
pirates, at eight a.m.
The expeditionary forces consisted of one hundred and
fifty seamen and marines, " exclusive of the Javanese crew
under Mr Ross." Pindasan town or village was reached in
safety, and was found to have been evacuated by the in-
habitants, who, however, had not had time to carry oif their
"furniture." After sentries had been posted. Captain
Mundy, the Admiral — who had joined the party at Pindasan
— Lieutenant Vansittart and a body-guard penetrated some
way into the surrounding country, and exchanged shots with
Weapons &^ Warfare 263
the enemy, a few of whom were killed during their retreat
to the hilly ground.
The idea had been that the Pindasan expedition should
join hands with the forces on the Tempassuk river under
Captain M'Quhae, but the ground being in a very bad state,
owing to heavy rains, this plan was abandoned; so after
burning every house in the town and destroying the war-
boats in course of construction, one of which was a craft
" fifty feet in length and beautifully built," the expedition
returned to the Phlegethon and the same day the vessel
returned to the mouth of the Tempassuk river and joined
her consorts.
On 3rd August the captured pirates were transferred to
the Ringdove for passage to Manilla, where they were to be
given up to the Spanish Governor, and the squadron weighed
anchor and proceeded to the northward. In the afternoon
of the same day three pirate prahus were discovered trying
to make good their escape, and were chased by the Royalisfs
boats, when after an engagement twenty of the pirates
were killed and two of their prahus destroyed ; there were
no casualties among the Royalisfs crew, owing to the
pirates' bad aim, though the latter appear to have fought
desperately.
After this the squadron passes for a time out of the
districts with which we are concerned to visit the stronghold
of SheriiF Osman in Marudu Bay (destroyed the year
before), with a view to seeing whether that piratical Arab
had returned and rebuilt his stockades. Returning from
Marudu Bay, where they had found Sheriff Osman's forti-
fications still deserted, the Admiral set sail for China, accom-
panied by the Dcedalus^ Ringdove and Royalist.
Captain Mundy in the /m, with the Hazard and
Phlegethon also under his command, left for Ambong,
anchoring on the same evening (7th August) at Batu Mandi
and dispatching Lieutenant Little in charge of a party in
a pinnace and a cutter on a further expedition up the
264 Weapons &^ Warfare
Pindasan river. Little was successful in burning an Illanun
village and had a brush with the pirates on the return
journey. He also captured and destroyed an Illanun vessel,
whose crew escaped to the shore. The expedition rejoined
the Iris and the rest of the squadron at Ambong, which
they had reached on the evening of the loth August.
From this place sail was made for Kimanis, and thence to
the Membakut river to punish a pirate and marauder, one
Haji Saman. Having met with some success in dealing
with this gentleman, Captain Mundy visited Brunei to keep
alive the fear which Raja Brooke had inspired in the Sultan
during a visit that he had paid to the country a short time
before.
Thence he again sailed for the Tempassuk district, calling
in at Kimanis on the way, but was forced to make for
Marudu Bay by a storm before he could visit "the
piratical town of Sarang — only a few miles distant from the
Bato Mande [Batu Mandi] rocks." Captain Mundy arrived
in Marudu Bay on ist September and on 9th September
anchored oiF Ambong again, after nine days of very bad
weather, during which he made three unsuccessful attempts
to carry out the projected expedition against Sarang, being
on each occasion obliged to run for safety by gales from
the south-west quarter. Considerable fears were felt for
the safety of the Hazard, which had become separated from
her consort, the Iris (the Phlegethon with Raja Brooke on
board had left for Sarawak some time previously). How-
ever, at daylight on 10th September the Hazard was seen
in the ofEng and before noon she was safely anchored.
News was obtained at Ambong that the Illanuns of Sarang,
who had been joined by the fugitives from Pindasan and
Tempassuk, despairing of being able to offer a successful
resistance, had removed their families and goods, "and gone
across the country to the district of Tungku, on the eastern
shores of Borneo," whence presumably they returned at
a later date. Having thus attained the object of the
Weapons ^ Warfare 265
expedition, in driving out the Illanuns, Captain Mundy
sailed on other business to Kimanis and Brunei and did not
again return to the Tempassuk district. He left Acheen
Head, Sumatra, on 12th April 1847 ^^^ reached Spithead
on 29th July of the same year.
I have so far said very little about the methods of land-
fighting formerly in vogue among the Illanuns and Bajaus,
but as I have already dragged out this chapter to an uncon-
scionable length, through giving what extracts I could find
dealing with the subject of Illanun piracy, I will only add
that, in the majority of cases, fighting of this kind no doubt
consisted of unorganised raids on the weaker tribes of the
interior, the burning of the upland villages, the killing of
the majority of the menfolk and the seizure of the women
and children as slaves, who might either be reserved for the
use of their Bajau and Illanun masters or profitably sold to
the princes and chiefs of Brunei, Sulu and Mindanao.
CHAPTER XXIX
ANTIQUITIES
I AM inclined to think, with regard to antiquities, that
it is quite possible that some interesting finds may be
awaiting the excavator in British North Borneo, though
I do not mean to suggest that any large buildings or buried
cities will reward his labours. From what I have seen of
the Tempassuk district I should say that relics of ancient
occupation are by no means uncommon. Though unfortun-
ately I had but little time to devote to the excavation of the
legendary sites of ancient villages or graves, I managed to
do a little work on one hill-top which was reported to have
been occupied in former days by a Dusun village.
The most interesting collection of antiquities that I was
able to make was one of stone implements. These, I believe,
had not been reported previously from British North Borneo,
though Dr Haddon had found one in Sarawak, and sub-
sequently a fine collection of them was made by Dr Hose
and presented to the Cambridge University Museum of
Ethnography.
The three stone implements from Sarawak figured by
Ling Roth were, I believe, reported previously to this
discovery ; but one of these, which is of palaeolithic type,
was obtained from a dealer, and is doubtfully Bornean,
while of the two others, which were found by Mr Hart
Everett, one is from a bed of river gravel and appears to
be of palaeolithic type, and the other, which was found in
a cave, is a very rudely chipped object. All Dr Hose's
specimens are of neolithic culture and are axe- or
adze-heads.
Thinking that if stone implements had been found in
266
Antiquities 267
Sarawak there was no reason why they should not occur
in British North Borneo, I began to make inquiries among
the natives, aided by a catalogue of the National Museum
of Antiquities of Scotland which I happened to have by me.
This contained a large number of illustrations of Scottish
stone implements, and I soon found that I was on the track
of what I wanted, for the natives recognised the illustra-
tions as being pictures of stones similar to those known
to them as " thunder teeth " (gigi guntor). These, they
said, were found at the roots of coco-nut and other trees
which had been struck by lightning. Disregarding this
statement, as natives will, if there be a legend that stone
implements are thunderbolts, persuade themselves that they
found one which they possess under a tree which has been
struck, I made a few further inquiries, but without result.
One Sunday on going down to the Chinese shops as
usual to see what up-country natives had come in, and to
have a look at the cock-fighting, which was a weekly fixture
on that day, I happened to see a Bajau draw out from his
pocket something which I thought looked suspiciously like
a stone implement, and rub the spurs of his fighting-cock
with it. Calling up Keruak, the local Bajau chief, who
happened to be in a shop close by, I asked him to get hold
of the man and find out what sort of a stone he was using
as a charm. On our taking the man on one side he very
reluctantly produced a beautiful little axe-head made of a
green stone, which looked very much like an inferior quality
of jade. He told me that he did not like showing the
stone to many people as it diminished its potency as a
charm, and he absolutely refused to name a price for it.
After this I set two or three men to hunt for me, and
one of them brought me a very fine specimen, of which I
was able to get a model made ; but here again the owner
would not sell, although a very tempting price was offered.
Subsequently when it became known in the villages that I
was hunting for gigi guntor^ and offering large prices.
268 Antiquities
specimens began to be brought in for sale, some of the
vendors saymg that their father or grandfather had seen
a tree struck by lightning and had dug under it for the
thunder tooth until he found it, and others, in the case
of newly found specimens, generally telling me fairly
enough that they had picked them up when working in
their padi-fields ; that they had noticed them lying at
the side of the track when riding along on their buffaloes ;
or had seen them sticking out of a bank of earth the old
face of which had fallen away.
In all I managed to make a small collection of thirteen
actual implements and two models, while I was lucky enough
to find one small implement myself, which was lying on a
bank of earth beside the bridle-path leading from Kotabelud
to the steamer wharf in Usakan Bay.
The material of which three of the implements are made
is a green nephrite ; four are manufactured from a closely
grained stone which is almost jet-black, and looks like some
form of basalt, though the colour may be partly due to the
specimens having been constantly rubbed and handled by
the natives who found them ; while other three, and among
them that which I found myself, are of local claystone, so
soft that it makes it difficult to understand how they can
ever have been really used as cutting instruments. The
remaining two are made, one of quartz and the other of
some kind of sandstone.
Most of the implements may be classed as axe- or adze-
heads of various types, but one of soft stone has a gouge-
like form, and two implements and one model are very
curious specimens, as they are axe-like in shape, but have
a double-cutting (?) edge: what the use of these can
have been it is very difficult to imagine.
All stone implements are highly prized as charms. They
are put into the padi store to keep the padi in good con-
dition; water in which they have been soaked is given to
sick persons to drink; swords are rubbed with them in
Antiquities 269
order to ensure their inflicting deadly wounds, and the
spurs of fighting-cocks are similarly treated so that they
may make deep wounds on the opposing bird.
Apart from stone implements proper, I found that flakes
of reddish-coloured radiolarian chert were common on all
the foot-hills around Kotabelud. These in most cases had
the bulb of percussion well developed, though the whole
flake was generally somewhat rough, chert not giving such
a nice clean fracture as English flint. In addition to a large
number of " flakes " I was lucky enough to find one typical
"core." This red chert, which is known to the natives as
batu apt (fire-stone), is, in conjunction with a piece of steel,
frequently used at the present day to strike a light. No
attempt is made to dress the stone by chipping; either a
piece of a convenient size is picked up from the ground,
or, if none small enough can be found, a large stone is
thrown against a boulder and the fragments collected, or
pounded on a large boulder until it breaks in pieces.
I was inclined to believe, in spite of the modern theories
of the formation of natural flakes and cores by lightning
and other agencies, that these specimens are artifacts, one
of the main reasons for my belief being the regular flaking
of the " core." Against my contention, however, there is
the fact that I have never seen a true implement made from
red chert, but this is by no means to say that they do not
occur.
Before describing the small excavations I made at Tudu,
a hill overlooking Usakan Bay and the Illanun villages about
Fort Alfred, I should like to say a little about reported finds
of ancient objects in the Tempassuk district. I frequently
heard stories of natives coming across old jars half buried
on the tops of the grass-covered foot-hills about Kotabelud,
notably near the bridle-path which leads to Tuaran, and
there seems to be no reason to doubt the statements, though
I have never seen a specimen which has been obtained in
this way. These may be old burial jars, but from the
270 Antiquities
descriptions given me they would seem to be too small to
have been used for this purpose. Fragments of old celadon-
ware are, however, not uncommonly to be met with around
the bases of the foot-hills, and I have frequently picked
them up myself.
One Bajau who knew that I was interested in ancient
objects told me that he and a companion had once found
an ornament of twisted gold — from his description I imagine
it to have been a sort of torque — in his padi-field. They
had cut it in two and had each sold his half to the local
goldsmith at the price by weight of old gold. On applica-
tion to the goldsmith he confirmed the Bajau's story, but
told me that he had melted the pieces down and used them
for making new ornaments.
Shortly before I left Borneo a report was brought to me
that there was a rock not far from Kampong Piasau which
bore the imprint of a gigantic foot, but as I was busy at
the time I was unable to go and see whether it was a
natural depression which happened somewhat to resemble
a footprint or whether it was an artificial mark, such as I
believe are sometimes found on rocks in Buddhist countries.
With regard to the village site on the hill called Tudu,
which I have mentioned above, my intention was first called
to the place by Orang Kaya Haji Arsat, the head Govern-
ment chief of the Tempassuk. He told me that it was
reported that the hill-top had been occupied in former days
by a Dusun village — that is, in the times before the invasion
of the Tempassuk by Bajaus and Illanuns — and that there
was a legend about the destruction of the village by a
hurricane; further, that men who had climbed the hill in
recent years had found its top strewn with fragments of
the cooking-pots used by the ancient occupants. On asking
one of my Dusun friends about the matter, I found that
the legend of Tudu was well known, and obtained the
following story from him.
Long ago some men of Kampong Tudu were looking for
Antiquities 271
wood to make a fence, and while they were searching they
came upon what appeared to be a great tree trunk, which
was lying on the ground. They began to cut it with their
working-knives, intending to make their fence from it, but
to their surprise blood came from the cuts. So they decided
to walk along to one end of the " trunk " and see what it
was. When they came to the end they found that they
had been cutting into a great snake, and that the end of the
" trunk " was its head. They therefore made stakes and,
driving them into the ground, bound the snake to them
and killed it. They then flayed the skin from the body,
and taking it and the meat home they made a great feast
from its flesh. The skin of the snake they made into a
great drum, and while they were drinking they beat the
drum to try its sound, but for a long time it remained
silent. At last, in the middle of the night, the drum
began to sound of its own accord : " Duk^ Duk^ Kagu ;
Duky Duky Kagu^"* (Kagu is Bajau for hurricane or
typhoon). Then came a great hurricane and swept away
all the houses in the village: some of them were carried
out to sea together with the people in them ; others settled
down at what is now Tempassuk village and other places,
and from them arose the present settlements.
Being interested in the tale, and thinking that there was
very probably some truth in the story of a village on the
hill-top, as it would be an almost impregnable site in war-
time, I arranged with the Orang Kaya to make the climb,
and a few days later started from Kotabelud with three or
four Dusun coolies armed with changkuls (a kind of Chinese
hoe). At Fort Alfred I met the Orang Kaya, accompanied
by an Illanun follower, and we started a very long and hot
climb up the sides of the hill, which were covered with
lalang (a rough grass).
On arrival at the top we at once saw that it would make
a most admirable situation for a fort, as Tudu commands
the whole of the surrounding country, and the hill-top is
272 Antiquities
sufficiently flat to accommodate easily a decent-sized village,
though water seemed to be scarce. The most prominent
objects on the hill were two immense memplum or impalum
trees which were in fruit at the time. These were obvious
signs that there either had been a village on the hill, or
that people had visited the hill-top in bygone days.
The next thing was to find a site for our excavations, and
after searching for profitable ground for a short time by
uprooting tussocks of lalang and inspecting the soil below
them, I decided that one place, where the humus was very
black, and where two or three pieces of rough pottery were
found near the surface, was most probably ground on which
a house had stood. In this opinion I was speedily confirmed,
as on driving two intersecting trenches, about two and a half
feet deep, at right angles across the site we came upon many
fragments of rough pottery, broken bones of animals —
chiefly pigs — and large numbers of sea-shells of species
related to the clam and English cockle.
In addition to these we found four objects of much
greater interest : one a water-rounded stone of granite with
a diameter of about three and a half inches, which the
Dusun cooHes said would be probably used for smoothing
the inside of cooking-pots during the process of manufacture ;
another an almost circular pebble of sandstone of slightly
less diameter than the " potting-stone." This was flattened
on either side and had an artificially made indentation in the
centre of each flattened surface. Worked stones, some-
times completely perforated, sometimes with only two
chiselled or drilled depressions, as in the above case, are
frequently found in England associated with other articles
of neolithic culture. Such stones were probably used as
hammers, those with a hole having had a wooden handle
pushed through them, and those with depressions only
being held in the hand, the depressions aflbrding a firm grip
for the thumb and the index finger. It is possible that the
bored stones may have been used as club-heads — c,f, the
Antiquities 273
stone club-heads of New Guinea. I am inclined to think
that the stone from Tudu may have been used for this
purpose, as one edge is much chipped.
The remaining objects of interest were a couple of pieces
of Chinese crackle-ware, one, which looked like a fragment
of a small plate, being of the colour which is known as
caledon, the other, which the natives seemed to think was
a fragment of a Gusi jar, being greenish brown in colour,
rather thick, with a very fine crackle. Unfortunately I had
no time to excavate the place systematically, as it was with
difficulty that I was able to devote even a day to the work.
I may remark here that the Dusun coolies said that the
fragments of rough pottery which we dug up were of
different consistency to that now in use.
The only other ancient site I visited was far up-country
on the bridle-path to the Interior. This place, which is
some little way beyond the Singaran halting-bungalow
(opposite Kiau), is an earthwork on the side of the hill, and
as far as can now be seen consists of a trench about sixty feet
long, with a corresponding mound on the valley side of it.
The mound has been almost destroyed in making the bridle-
path, but the trench is still fairly clearly defined.
The Dusuns tell the following legend about the place : —
Once long ago there was a very tall man named Lamongoyan,
who could cross a river at a single stride. He died on the top
of the hill above this spot, and his people being unable to lift
his body rolled it down to the grave they had dug, and
buried him there. His head lies pointing inland and his feet
towards the sea.
^
CHAPTER XXX
THE CHINESE IN BORNEO
THE Statement is frequently made by residents in
Borneo that the Dusuns are "half Chinese," and
the same assertion is not uncommonly to be met
with in books. Ling Roth, for instance, in his map of
British North Borneo has printed in red letters across the
whole coastal region of North- West Borneo from Brunei
Bay to Marudu Bay, including the Tuaran and Tempassuk
districts: "Mixed Chinese and Native Tribes" (Natives
of Sarawak and British North Borneo, vol. i., and The British
North Borneo Herald, ist July 1914). Now definite state-
ments of this kind should not be made unless there is very
good evidence to show that they are true. I believe that
the theory of the " half-Chinese " origin of these tribes first
arose from a supposed reference made to the Chinese in
certain Bornean names, and from legends of a former Chinese
invasion of this part of the island.
As I had long been annoyed by the constant reiteration
of these statements, which rested, to my thinking, on no
suflEcient basis of evidence, I wrote, some time ago, a letter
to The British North Borneo Herald, setting out the argu-
ments in favour of the Chinese theory, dealing with them
as thoroughly as I could, and at the same time asking for any
help from those interested in the subject which might tend
to throw hght upon the question and, if possible, settle it in
one way or another. This letter of mine ran as follows : —
Taiping, Perak,
Federated Malay States,
4/^ June 1 9 14.
Sir, — I am writing to you to ask whether any of your
readers would be kind enough to help me in a small invest!-
274
The Chinese in Borneo 275
gation which I am making as to the past history of British
North Borneo.
In many accounts of Borneo it has been stated that there
has been a large infusion of Chinese blood among the
aborigines of the northern portions of the island, some
writers even going so far as to say that the Dusuns are
half Chinese. I am much inclined to think that their con-
clusions have been reached by a very slipshod process of
reasoning, and that no large admixture has ever taken place.
The following statements are, I believe, generally advanced
in support of the theory, and I will endeavour to deal with
them seriatim : —
(i) That the Dusuns use hats and ploughs similar to
those of the Chinese.
(2) That the men of one Dusun tribe wear a pigtail.
(3) That the Dusuns look rather like Chinese.
(4) That there are accounts of Chinese embassies being
sent to Brunei.
(5) That there is a legend of a Chinese expedition going
in search of the jewel guarded by the dragon, which
was supposed to live at the top of Mount Kinabalu ;
and that a party of Chinese, who were left behind?
settled in the country.
(6) That old Chinese jars, beads and fragments of ancient
Chinese pottery are common in Borneo.
(7) That several names of mountains, villages and rivers
begin with Kina, and that this means "China"
(Chinese),
(i^) Now with regard to the first statement, both the
conical sun-hat and the same type of plough are used by
the Malays, and I also believe by the Javanese and Siamese,
whom I have never heard accused of being half Chinese.
The plough and the sun-hat may have been adopted from
the Chinese, but it seems to me extremely risky to say
because one race, tribe or nation has borrowed from the
culture of another with whom they have been in contact.
276 The Chinese in Borneo
that, therefore, there has been a fusion of blood. I have
seen several most excellent copies of European straw hats
made by the Dusuns, and going on the above assumption,
if the wearing of these should become general, one might
almost as well say that there was a large strain of European
blood among the Dusuns. Or again, reasoning thus, why not
say that the Chinese are half European, since Chinese boot-
makers now turn out boots made in the European fashion ?
(jid) The men of one Dusun tribe wear a pigtail. I have
never seen this tribe, so I do not know if their pigtails
resemble those of the Chinese. A pigtail is, however, one
very convenient method of doing up long hair, and is, I
believe, not confined to the Chinese. Moreover, even if it
has been adopted from the Chinese, this does not necessarily
mean that the Dusuns are half Chinese, though it would prove
that there had been a strong Chinese influence in the country.
(3^) It is stated that the Dusuns look like Chinese, but I
must say that I have never been able to see much similarity.
I do not, however, contest the fact that there is a certain
MongoUan element present among the Dusuns, as, I believe,
there is among all the Indonesian peoples, this seeming to be
fairly well proved by the occurrence of lank, straight hair, and
occasionally of the typical Mongolian fold over the inner
corner of the eye. What I do believe, however, is that
the Mongolian element is not of comparatively modern — i,c.
Chinese — origin, but that it was probably introduced before
the Indonesian race left Southern Asia for its present home.
{4.0) The accounts of Chinese writers, translations of which
I have read, do not seem to indicate anything further than
that embassies were sent to Brunei and vice versa, and that
Chinese trading junks used to make regular voyages to barter
the manufactures of China for the produce of the jungle, and
probably, in South- Western Borneo, for gold and diamonds.
(5^) The story of the dragon seems to come to us from
Chinese or Malay sources, and I have not heard of it among
the Dusuns, though it may be known; nor have I ever
The Chinese in Borneo 277
heard the Dusuns of the Tempassuk claim descent from the
Chinese. The legend, which has a distinctly apocryphal
flavour about it, is mentioned by both Dalrymple and Earl,
and the latter in referring to it says : " The Chinese suppose
the Dyaks to be descended from a large body of their
countrymen left by accident upon the island, but this opinion
is entertained solely on the faith of a Chinese legend.
[Pigafetta states that at the time of his visit there were
30,000 Chinese living in the town of Brunei, but his
accounts of the place are probably much exaggerated.] If
they can prove their paternity to the Dyaks, they must ex-
tend it to the whole race inhabiting the interior of the large
islands of the Archipelago [/>. Indonesians]." Evidently
Earl did not consider that there was much probabihty of
truth in the account.
(6a) Old Chinese jars and other objects are certainly
common in Borneo, but I take it that this does not necessarily
indicate anything further than that the Chinese have been
trading with Borneo for many hundreds of years. There
were, at the time of my residence in Borneo, about seven-
teen Chinese shops in the Tempassuk, and these were ample
for the amount of trade in the district. Supposing in the
old days — when foreign articles were probably much rarer
in Borneo than they are at present, trade much less than
to-day, and life much more insecure — that the same number
of Chinese traders inhabited the district : are we to consider
that they would leave any permanent trace on the native
population ? No. If there ever was any large Chinese popu-
lation, it must have been employed in mining or agriculture,
probably the former. But have we anything to prove that
such a population ever existed in the Dusun country ?
(ya) Now, sir, we come to the last statement, and it is
with regard to this in particular that I wish to enlist your
readers' help. The usual examples given of names which
indicate the presence of the Chinese in Borneo are
"Kinabalu" and " Kinabatangan." If Kina really does
278 The Chinese in Borneo
mean China or Chinese, this again by no means necessarily
shows that the Chinese ever came to the country in large
numbers as colonists. Who gave the mountain its name ?
Most likely the Dusuns, since they appear to be the oldest
inhabitants of the country at the present day. Unfortun-
ately I do not know Dusun, and so I cannot trace for myself
the meaning of the word in that language, if a meaning exists
other than that of " Chinese Widow Mountain." I have,
however, long had my suspicions that the accepted explana-
tion was not correct, and have thought that it was probably
one of those rather clever, but badly mistaken derivations
which Malay pundits are such adepts at manufacturing —
e.g. Singapura, the City of the Lion ; Sumatra, Semut Raya.
Recently I have come across another explanation of the
name of the mountain, which I am inclined to think much
more probable. Kinabalu, according to Dusun legendry, is
the home of departed spirits, and Witti says that the spirits
of the dead are supposed to bathe in the waters which rush
from the gullies of the mountain and which are called
" Tatsi di Nabalu." Hatton continually speaks of Nabalu,
and not of Kinabalu, and in a recent article in The Sarawak
Gazette^ by Mr J. C. Moulton, the suggestion is put forward
that Nabalu means the home of the dead — "Nabalu, the
Dusun word, signifying resting-place of the dead." It is
true enough that Kinabalu is supposed to be the resting-
place of the dead, but does Nabalu mean home of the dead ?
Perhaps someone who is learned in Dusun can help me. It
is worth noting, however, that the mountain is very frequently
spoken of as Nabalu or Habalu, which appears rather as if
the Ki were merely some form of prefix.
The name Kinabatangan presents more difficulties, as the
central part of it looks very much like the Malay word
batang (trunk or water-course), which is often attached to
the names of rivers — e.g, Batang Lupar, Batang Pahang.
How are we to read it, Ki-nabatang-an or Kina-batang-an ?
The supposition that Ki^ Kin or Kina may be prefixes is, I
The Chinese in Borneo 279
think, rather strengthened by the following North Borneo
names, which all begin with one or other of these syllables,
while in some it would be difficult to say that there was any
reference to China or Chinese : —
(i) Kinoram (a district near Marudu).
(2) Kinabalu (sometimes called Penelab, and Kampong
in the Tempassuk district).
(3) Kinataki (a river in the Tempassuk district).
(4) Kinsiraban (the name of an up-country village).
(5) Kinokop (Pinokop or Tenokop, a river in the
Tempassuk district).
(6) Kinharingan (or Kenaringan, the name of the
Dusun creator).
(7) Kimanis (the name is said to be derived from Kayu
Manis, but I should think that this is doubtful).
Perhaps the prefix is either Ki, Kin or Kina^ according
to the requirements of euphony.
I believe that there are several rather strong supporters
of the Chinese population theory in the British North
Borneo Service, and I should be very glad if they, and
others, would give me any fresh facts either in support of,
or in opposition to, the theory. Moreover, I should be
particularly thankful for any information bearing on the
derivation of the names in which reference to the Chinese
is thought to occur. So far the subject has been but little
dealt with in a critical manner, and it would be interesting
if the matter could be thrashed out to a conclusion, be my
views right or wrong. I am, sir, yours obediently,
Ivor H. N. Evans.
To The Editor,
The British North Borneo Herald^
Sandakan.
My queries and questionings resulted in four most interest-
ing letters being received in answer. One of these, from
Mr E. O. Rutter, then District Officer, North Keppel,
appeared on pp. 136 and 137 of The British North Borneo
2 8o The Chinese in Borneo
Herald of the year 1 9 1 4 ; another, from Mr J. C. Moulton,
Curator, Sarawak Museum, in The British North Borneo
Herald of 3rd November of the same year ; the other two
— one from Mr E. H. Stephens of Padas Valley Estate,
Beaufort, British North Borneo, and the other from the
Rev. Father Duxneuney of the Roman Catholic Mission,
Putatan — were addressed to me privately.
Mr Stephens' letter deals entirely with statements Nos. 1
and 7 of my letter. He informs me that the tribe of Dusuns
who wear a queue are those of Bundu, on the coast of the
Klias Peninsula. It is worn by young men, who cut it off
on becoming fathers of families. He goes on to state that
the tribe shows " undoubted traces of Chinese influence
— e,g, their feast days coincide with the Chinese New Year,
and other festivals " — and remarks that they seem to have a
hazy tradition of a former Chinese connection. Further-
more, he remarks that since the Chinese have discarded the
pigtail it is losing its popularity in Bundu. He thinks that,
as these Dusuns live on the coast, the infusion of Chinese
blood " is likely to have been both recent and local."
With regard to the meaning of the name Kinabalu he
says: "Not being satisfied with the usually accepted
derivation of the name Kinabalu, I have questioned Dusuns
from districts in the vicinity and have been told that Nabalu
does not mean * home of the dead,' the spirit being said to
^ mengalau Nahulu^ mengalau apparently being a special word
to describe the journeying of the spirit after death. With
regard to the prefix Ki I can obtain no information." He
sums up by saying that he thinks that the supporters of the
Chinese theory will have great difiiculty in proving how a
Chinese population, which is by some writers considered to
have left its mark on large sections of the present native
population of Borneo, "vanished and left such flimsy
evidence of its existence."
Mr Rutter's letter from The British North Borneo Herald
I give below in extenso :
The Chinese in Borneo 281
To The Editor,
British North Borneo Herald,
TUARAN,
British North Borneo,
3U^>/); 1914.
Chinese Names in Borneo
Sir, — Your correspondent, Mr I. H. N. Evans, made some
queries in your issue of i st July as to the meaning of the
prefix Ki^ Kin and Ki?ia found in names in British North
Borneo. I do not beUeve that this prefix has anything to do
with China or Chinese, and offer the following explanation : —
The prefix is almost invariably confined to names of gods,
mountains and rivers, and I suggest that it is the Dusun
and Murut word aki, meaning grandfather or ancestor; the
original names were Aki Nabalu, Aki Nabatangan, Aki
Langalangah, etc., and the a of aki has come to be
dropped by ellipse: that this is not postulating too much
may be shown by the example of the word Kinaringan (the
name of the Dusun deity), which is also pronounced Akina-
ringan by the Dusuns. Na is itself a prefix which constantly
occurs in the Dusun and Murut languages, sometimes denot-
ing a past participle ( = Malay her)^ sometimes interrogatory
(nakito ku - do you see ? ) and in other cases apparently for
the sake of euphony.
The word nabalu in Dusun means widowed, without a
partner (W« = widow or widower). The most striking thing
about the mountain is its splendid isolation, and it is not
beyond the ingenuity of a Dusun to give it some such name
as "the Solitary Father," Aki Nabalu. I do not think
that Nabalu means the home of departed spirits as suggested
by Mr J. C. Moulton. It is true that the Dusuns believe
that their spirits go to " Nabalu," but Nabalu is only the
name of the place (or person) that receives them, just as
Paradise and Hades do not in themselves mean resting-places
of the dead, but are only names for those resting-places.
Take next Kilangalangah (a mountain in the Ulu
282 The Chinese in Borneo
Labuk), where there is no euphonic na^ and we have Aki
Langalangah with the simple prefix Ki^ the a as usual being
dropped by ellipse. In Kinataki (a river which rises in
Mount Kinabalu) the aki appears to be duplicated. The
sense of aki is again well shown in Kinapunan (^pu7ian =
Malay pokod (sic), lit, tree, and hence fountain, source,
origin), the name the Muruts of the Keningan district give
their deity. The prefix is also to be met with in Kinasaluan,
a tributary of the Talankai in the far interior, and in Kinantu-
pong, a tributary of the Sugut : neither of these names is
likely to be due to Chinese influence.
With regard to Kinabatangan, there is one great objection
to the derivation Kina Batang, for to mean " the Chinese
river" the adjective should follow the noun and the name
should be Batang Kina. Batang (I believe) has the same
significance in Dusun and in Murut as in Malay, and I
suggest that the name is aki-na-batangan — the Father River,
an appropriate term for a river with many tributaries or anak
sungei.
That this theory of personification is not wholly fanciful
may be shown by parallels among other nations. Compare
Father Tiber, Father Thames, Father Zeus. I cannot
recall an instance of a mountain being endowed with the
name of father, but it does not need much imagination to
suppose that a race who live under the shadow of a great
mountain could believe that they were under its paternal
and supernatural care. After all. Mount Kinabalu, glinting
in the morning sunlight, is probably the most wonderful thing
that an up-country Dusun has ever seen. Your obedient
servant, (Signed) E. O. Rutter,
Mr J. C. Moulton in his letter to The British North
Borneo Herald makes the interesting suggestion that Ki,
Ka or K in place-names, etc. (examples Kadamaian, Kalupis,
Kiau, Klowat, Kappak, Kinataki, Kinabalu, Kaung, Kudat,
Kaningau, Kimanis), may be the local equivalent of the
The Chinese in Borneo 283
Sarawak S which is so commonly found as the first letter of
names in that country (examples : Sadong, Samarahan, Segu,
Simanggang, Sabu, Skrang, Sentah, etc., etc.). He thinks
that 5 in place-names may be equivalent to the Si which
is often used before names of persons of some standing.
Si is possibly equivalent to the Malay incbe = sir or Mr.
He asks Mr Rutter to make sure that balu is used for both
widow and widower among the up-country Dusuns, remark-
ing that "It is quite possible that Dusuns, especially those
of the coasts, have now followed the Malays in using the
word balu for both widow and widower." He suspects
that closer inquiry among the hill Dusuns will reveal a
different word for widower, as in Kayan, Kenyah, Kalabit
and others of the more primitive languages. He further
remarks that we cannot pass the anomaly " Grandfather-
Widow " as a translation of the name Kinabalu, but this
of course would only be the case if Mr Rutter were right
in his supposition that Ki is equivalent to Aki (grandfather)
and that balu only means widow and not widower.
He further says: "Although the balance of opinion
appears to be adverse to that of Chinese influence we should
not dismiss it too summarily, as Chinese intercourse with
North Borneo has been fairly regular for about twelve cen-
turies. There is little doubt that small colonies of Chinese
have settled well in the interior from time to time.
"Spenser St John, writing in 1858, says: 'To show how
extensively the Chinese formerly spread over the country
I may notice that they had pepper plantations even up the
Madihit as late as the remembrance of some of the oldest
Murut ! ' The Madihit is a branch of the Limbang river,
some seventy miles south of Brunei. Some three years ago
I visited the actual place mentioned by St John, but no
amount of inquiry showed that the natives of that part had
ever heard of Chinese in their district. On the other
hand, there can be little doubt that the natives of that
part exhibit now some evidence of this former Chinese
284 The Chinese in Borneo
influence, probably many glaring proofs, if the traveller
only knows the natives (and Chinese) well enough to
distinguish between what are obviously non-Chinese and
what are obviously foreign to that Borneo tribe (j/V).
" It may be of interest to your first correspondent on this
subject (vide British North Borneo Herald^ p. 100) that
I found a small rectangular wooden box in a Dusun house
on Kinabalu, which was used by the owner as a pillow.
The Dusuns appeared surprised to hear that it was identical
in shape with that used by the Chinese for the same
purpose. Of course it may easily have been copied from
one purchased a generation or two back in a Chinese
bazaar on the coast; on the other hand, there is just the
possibility of it forming an interesting piece of evidence
of a much older and more intimate Chinese influence.
" The question of whether ' Nabalu ' actually means ' the
resting-place of the dead' (see Mr Rutter's letter), or
is only ' the name given to the place that receives them,'
reminds us of the old problem, 'which appeared first, the
egg that produced the hen, or the hen that laid the
egg? ..."
Now to take the letter from Father Duxneuney, which
is by far the most interesting communication of those which
I have received privately, or have been published as the
result of my letter to the Herald^ since I believe that he
has solved once and for all the question of Bornean names
in which it has so far been customary to consider there is
a reference to the Chinese.
Father Duxneuney has lived among the Dusuns of
Putatan as a missionary for many years, since 1893, ^^^
as he, apart from his oflEcial labours, takes great interest
in all matters concerning native belief and customs, his
opinion should carry great weight.
I will take first that part of his letter which deals with
the question of Bornean names which are thought to refer
to the Chinese. He remarks that the Dusuns of Putatan
The Chinese in Borneo 285
always call that majestic mountain, which is supposed by
them to receive the spirits of the dead, Nabahu or Nabalu
(see also remarks in my letter to the Herald)^ and that
when he first went to that place nobody understood the word
Kinabalu. He also tells me that at Putatan 1 ^nd h are inter-
changeable— e,g, " here we say hcwiin (house), a few villages
higher up it becomes lamin,'*^ This is well worth noting,
as it has an important bearing on what follows in his letter.
He goes on to say that when a person dies the body
is washed and then taken out of the room and laid on the
verandah. Here a kind of hut is built over the corpse,
which is covered with very old and costly cloths. "This
hut in called bahu — house of the dead." The cloths them-
selves are also termed bahu^ and Father Duxneuney remarks
that bahu thus comes to get a secondary meaning of
pertaining to the dead."
He divides up the word Kinabalu in this fashion, Ki-na-
balu (or bahu). With regard to the na^ he agrees with
Mr Rutter in saying that it is a common Dusun prefix often
denoting past time, or rather denoting an action as past
but still existing. A'/, he says, is an abbreviation of the
Dusun kiwao — it is, it was, there is. He thus roughly
translates Kinabalu as follows : — " There is a place or
home pertaining to the dead." To illustrate the use of
the two prefixes Ki and na in conjunction he gives these
examples :
(i) Matai (I die), kapalazan (death, subst.), ki-na-
palazan (the continuation of the death of a person).
" For instance," says Father Duxneuney, " for one
dies now to-day, one says napatai (he died) ; but
to say that his death occurred a week ago we use
Kinapalazan dan san minggo iyohu,^^
(2) Mernehobang (to bury), hobongan (a burial), kohobongan
(a burial ground). *' If I want to mention a burial
of some time ago — long past — I have to twist my
tongue to kinapomohobangan (ki here means ' there is '
2 86 The Chinese in Borneo
— na denotes the past time — po7nohobong =^to be
made buried) is the passive from memehobang to
bury."
Father Duxneuney considers that Kinabatangan is the
Malay word hatang " Dusunised " ; thus, I suppose, Ki-na-
batang-an may be roughly translated the place where there
is (and was from times past) a hatang-an or main river.
He furthermore gives much interesting information with
regard to the Chinese in Borneo. This summarised is as
follows : — The plough was formerly not used by the lowland
Dusuns (Kadasan) of Putatan, and there are still natives
alive who can remember when all land was prepared by
hand. Hats of any kind are little worn, the head-cloth
being the covering most in use. The hats are worn by the
women at harvest, and on the occasion of a marriage a
conical hat which is worn by the boy (bridegroom) is taken
off his head by the priestess and placed on that of the bride.
These hats are manufactured by the hill people. Jars,
gongs and guns were mostly introduced from Brunei and
thus, " if Chinese, came only indirectly to the native."
Father Duxneuney, however, tells me the Chinese had a
great (commercial) influence amongst the natives in former
times, before Labuan and North Borneo ''came under
Britain's commerce." He says that when he first came to
Putatan (1893) there were only a few Chinamen in the
interior. If I understand his letter rightly, these went up
to trade from their shops at the Government post. He
remarks that the whole trade of the country was in Chinese
hands (this is still true of all retail trade throughout the
country). "Everything I had," he says, "from a glass tumbler
to a British North Borneo dollar, from a piece of cloth to
my newspaper. The Tablet, was in their eyes made in China.
"How great was the influence which the Chinese had
as traders is illustrated by the following incident which
happened here only last year. A little native girl, about
twelve years old, and a schoolmate were looking at an
The Chinese in Borneo 287
illustrated Bible history — they were unconscious that I was
near. I heard one of them remark about a picture of Adam
and Eve driven out of Paradise : ' It is rather bad that they
go without clothing — only some leaves.' The twelve-year-
old lady answered : * Yes, but at that time there were no
Chinamen.' She was quite serious, and evidently thought :
I no Chinaman, no shop to buy clothes at."
I Father Duxneuney points out that the Putatan Dusuns
jhave a legend that one of the hills in the district was
originally near Kinabalu (Nabahu), but moved thence to its
present position. He thinks that this may perhaps be taken
as evidence that the Putatan Dusuns originally came down
from the hill country around Kinabalu.
Though admitting, as I do, that the Chinese have long
had great influence in Borneo as traders, he propounds the
following problems for solution by those who believe that
there was formerly such a large resident Chinese population*
in Borneo that many of the native tribes, and especially the
Dusuns, are half Chinese : —
(i) ^^ Language. — There is not the least similarity
between Dusun and Chinese. Old Chinamen who
have lived in the country for twenty years or more
and have married Dusun wives never acquire the
Dusun language — not to say master it. [A China-
man who goes to a foreign country when he is already
grown up seems seldom to master the native language.
The China-born Chinese of the Straits and Borneo
rarely acquire any fluency in speaking Malay, and
when they do, invariably mispronounce very badly.
Native-born Chinese of Borneo and the Straits
acquire the language of the country without
difficulty.] The latter has a very intricate grammar
(something like Greek) and an enormous vocabulary.
There is no trace in the Dusun language of
Chinese influence."
(2) " Why is there no trace of any written language ? By
2 88 The Chinese in Borneo
the born trading instinct of the supposed progenitors
of the Dusun one would expect that at least numerals
would have been transmitted to their offspring."
(3) " No traces of reverence for ancestors or parents are
found among the Dusuns, worship or reverence of
this kind being essentially a Chinese characteristic."
(4) There seems to be no mention of the Chinese in
native legendry.
I think that I have now dealt fairly with the greater part
of the correspondence which appeared in The British North
Borneo Herald in answer to my original letter. On re-visiting
Borneo in 191 5 I resolved to try and investigate the matter
further in the Tempassuk, proceeding chiefly on the lines
suggested by Father Duxneuney.
Mr Rutter stated in his letter to the Herald that balu
means widow or widower in Dusun (presumably in the
dialect of Tuaran or of the Tempassuk). I therefore put
questions to Gumpus of Tambatuan, in the Tempassuk
district, asking him what he would call a man whose wife
was dead, and a woman whose husband was dead, being
careful to avoid the use of the Malay word balu. He gave
me the two words opus and na-poud (the latter apparently
a past participle (?) widowed), which he said were applied
either to a widow or a widower. A Tuaran native similarly
questioned gave me na-poud only.
The Dusuns of Tuaran seem to speak of the mountain
more frequently as Pengaluan (the name Pengaluan is, I
find, mentioned by Whitehead) than as Nabalu, but this is
obviously a noun of the same derivation (formed as in
ordinary Malay), the b being dropped for the sake of
euphony {balu^ pen- or peng-balu-an^ Pengaluan). Simi-
larly the special word which Mr Stephens says is used of
the ghosts ascending Nabalu, which he gives as mengalau^
but which is in the Tempassuk pronounced mengalu^
obviously also comes from the same source, the b again-
being dropped owing to the difficulty of saying meng-balu.
The Chinese in Borneo 289
Direct questioning of a Tuaran Dusun as to whether any
objects used at burials or lyings-in-state had the term balu
applied, procured the information that the Gusi jar which
was sometimes placed near a corpse was called pen-a-haluk
(the k was pronounced very distinctly). A Dusun of
the Interior (a Tambunan man) told me that halu meant
newly buried, and he and a Piasau (Tempassuk) man both
gave me to understand that Pengaluan and Nabalu (or
Kinabalu) mean the place where the dead go to.
With regard to the na in Nabalu (or Ki-na-balu), I
obtained several more place-names in which this syllable
occurs ; in the case of one, Penabalu or Kinabalu, which I
have already mentioned in my letter to The British North
Borneo Herald, I was told that the name was derived from
the fact that there was (or used to be) some sort of a hole
or cave near the village which had both an entrance and an
exit, and through this a river flowed. Na-Iabu, I under-
stand from my Dusun informant, might be roughly trans-
lated " it goes through " ; a man, for instance, being asked
if a hole went right through from one side of a bank to the
other, if it did, would reply : " JNa-Iabu,^^
Let us now consider the evidence which goes to show
that, in general, so-called proofs of the half-Chinese origin
of the Dusuns are of the flimsiest.
With regard to the ploughs, hats, pillows, etc., used by
the Dusuns, we may disregard them as proofs of a Chinese
origin for the reasons set forth in my letter.
(2) The Mongolian characteristics found among the
Dusuns are common to all Indonesian peoples to a greater
or lesser extent, and were probably chiefly acquired before
they left the coasts of Asia.
(3) It seems that Ki-na does not mean Chinese, na being
a prefix signifying action past but still existing, which is
common in place-names, and Ki, derived from Kiwao, mean-
ing "there is" (Father Duxneuney). It is worthy of note,
however, that the Dusuns and some other tribes in speaking
290 The Chinese in Borneo
Malay do talk of Orang Kina (Chinese), instead of Orang
Cbina, which is the proper pronunciation, since they seem
to have difficulty in pronouncing C/j, turning it generally
either into K or .S — e.g. siramin for cbermin, sampur for
champur. No doubt the coincidence that certain Dusun
place-names begin with Ki-na and that Orang China was
pronounced Orang Kina was eagerly seized on by Malay (or
other) pundits, ignorant of the language of the country, but
desirous of making derivation for place-names, and connecting
them with romantic stories.
One subject which I have not yet dealt wath calls, perhaps,
for some attention, and that is the question of an admixture
of Chinese with the Dusuns of the Klias Peninsula. I have
not been able to investigate the matter for myself, but Mr
Wooley, Commissioner of Lands, tells me that locally there
has undoubtedly been a mixture a couple of generations
back or more, and that many natives claim a Chinese father
or grandfather.
Granted that this is so, it cannot be taken as a proof of
the assertion with regard to the Dusuns in general. The
mixture appears to be purely local, and the locality is on the
sea-coast. There is, of course, no barrier of custom or pre-
judice preventing Chinese from intermarrying with Dusuns,
and given a sufficient number of Chinese settlers, a mixed
race would be sure to arise ; but I do not grant that we have
any proof of there ever being a large Chinese population in
the Tuaran or Tempassuk districts, or in the Interior. The
supposed admixture of Chinese with natives, which is said to
have given rise to the Dusuns, must, if it ever took place
(which I do not beUeve), have occurred very much more than
two or three generations ago, that being the period given
by Mr Wooley for the Chinese-Dusun intermixture in and
around the Klias Peninsula.
CHAPTER XXXI
DIARY OF A JOURNEY TO MOUNT KINABALU
JULY 4TH. — Went on board the s.s. Sandakan of the
Straits Steamship Company at 7 a.m., and left Singa-
pore at about 8 a.m. Not many passengers on board,
and nobody that I knew when I was in Borneo before.
July 5TH. — Weather good and a nice fresh breeze.
Passed between the Natuna Islands.
July 6th. — Nothing in particular to record.
July 7TH. — Arrived at Miri in Sarawak, where there are
oil wells. Went off to the shore in the Oil Company's
launch shortly after arrival with E., one of the passengers ;
got permission from the Company's manager to take a walk
round their property. There are numerous wells, and some
of the derricks on the surrounding hills can be seen from
the anchorage. A pipe-line runs out to sea, from the end
of which steamers are loaded. Climbed to the top of the
hill with E. and one of the Oil Company's employees, who
was kind enough to show us round.
Took a few photographs of the wells and also of some
Semanggang Dyak men. The Semanggang river is a
tributary of the Batang Lupar. A number of these people
have recently been imported to clear away grass and under-
growth. They were wearing large sun-hats, short breeches
of European-made blue material, and in some cases figured
sleeveless coats of native-woven cloth, the ground colour of
which was black, while the patterns were in white. They
wore earrings of various types, and had some very nicely
decorated bamboo boxes, used for holding tobacco. One
man had a large silver button inserted in the upper edge of
either ear, and the pair were joined together by a string of
fine beads, which hung loosely under his chin.
291
2()2 Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu
Tattoo marks of the kind known to the Sea Dyaks as
kelingai ornamented many of the men's forearms ; star-like
tattoo patterns were to be seen on the inner sides of the
calves of their legs, and also V-shaped blocks of patterns on
their throats. As, however, we had to hurry back to the
launch, I had but little time to make observations. Left
Miri at about 4 p.m.
July 8th. — Arrived at Labuan Island shortly after day-
break. Mount Kinabalu on the mainland was plainly visible.
Labuan is said to be about ninety miles from the mountain.
Went on shore before breakfast. Not much change to note
since I was here last, except that the coal mines are no longer
working. The little town is as clean and bright, and the
island as pretty, as ever. Hunted for the Malay shop where
I formerly bought some old silver-ware, but the owner seems
to have removed to Brunei. Some modern Brunei brass-
ware was on sale in one kedai^ and I purchased a small figure
of a dragon, while two other passengers bought a large brass
j/r^^-stand and a parang Hang (Dyak sword) respectively.
Back to the ship for breakfast, and then went ashore
again. Several Kadayan (?) women in the town, one with
large silver buttons in the sleeves of her coat. All wore
black lace head-coverings and short black jackets, and had
open carrying-baskets on their backs. Returned to steamer
and watched some Malays very cleverly spearing garfish,
which were passing up and down near the lighter from
which the Sandakan was loading coal.
Went ashore again with E. at about 3 p.m. with the
intention of reaching a Kadayan village, but we took a
wrong turning and finally arrived in a Tutong settlement.
Nothing was particularly worthy of note there, as the people
are Mohammedans and very civilised, but the house walls,
made of mid-ribs of palm leaves, laid horizontally, were
interesting, and we also saw a nice carrying-basket orna-
mented with patterns. Returned to the wharf at six o'clock
via the old colliery railway. All night at Labuan.
Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu 293
July 9TH. — Left Labuan at daylight, and after great
trouble in coming alongside the wharf, owing to an old pile
causing an obstruction, I landed at Jesselton just before
4 P.M. Hurried off to the Treasury to get some money, of
which I had run short, and luckily found it open. Back
again to the Sandakan for dinner. Heard from various
people that some of the Marudu Bay and Tempassuk natives
have recently given trouble. They seem to have been
Bajaus, Illanuns and Dusuns. A number of the insurgents
were killed or captured near Pindasan, but things are now
quiet, the trouble having occurred a couple of months ago.
Owing to the restlessness of some of the Tempassuk people,
the District Officer, North Keppel, has temporarily removed
from Tuaran to Kotabelud. The junior officer is now
stationed at Tuaran.
Other news was that Haji Arsat (the head chief in the
Tempassuk) has lately been given the title of Orang Kaya
Kaya instead of Orang Kaya, which was his style in my
time, and has been made Supernumerary Assistant Officer
with 3rd Class Magistrate's powers ; also that the Kotabelud
house, formerly built under my supervision, had been burned
down through a fire which started in one of the bathrooms.
Jesselton has changed a good deal since I was here last.
A large amount of ground has been reclaimed, a reservoir
constructed, the wharf improved and new buildings put up.
Electric-light plant has been installed, and will soon be work-
ing, while ice-making machinery is on order from England.
There seem to have been several Government chiefs in the
recent disturbances ; but I do not know which, if any, of my
Tempassuk friends were mixed up in the affair. The leader
of the enterprise was one Kulindad, Marudu district Dusun.
Made arrangements at the Treasury for drawing money.
July ioth. — Up to the Resident's office at 9.30 a.m.
and talked over my plans with him. Telephoned to old
Sergeant Genang at Tuaran and asked him to try and get
me either my old Chinese cook or my former "boy"
294 Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu
(Omboi). Genang says that he thinks the cook has gone
to Jesselton. Omboi is at Tuaran and will probably come
if I want him. Arranged to call up Genang at 3 p.m. for
further information. Down to the wharf to get baggage
off the Sandakan, M., who is in charge of the customs,
kindly put my baggage through for me without any trouble,
and further helped me by sending oiF one of his men to Gaya
Island to try and arrange with some of the Orang Bernadan —
i,e. Tawi Tawi Islanders, who are settled there — for a prahu
to take me to the mouth of the Tempassuk river, for I have
decided to go as far as I can by sea. Back from the steamer
to the Rest House with E., who was my guest to lunch.
Rang up Genang at Tuaran, who told me that Omboi
was with him in the office. Asked him to let Omboi speak
to me and made arrangements that he should start on foot
for Jesselton to-morrow (distance said to be about twenty-
four miles). Customs boatman came in saying that he has
not been able to get a boat in Jesselton, but suggested that he
should go to the market as early as possible to-morrow morning
and get hold of some of the Bernadans when they come in
with their fish. Out with E. to take some photographs of
the town. Sandakan left for Kudat at about 6 p.m.
July iith. — Out buying provisions in the morning.
Omboi arrived at about 3.30 p.m. and the customs boatmen
brought in some Bernadans a little later. These men, a
crew of three, will take me in their boat to the Tempassuk
for five dollars per man. Went to the club at 5 p.m.,
where I did not meet many people that I knew, and thence
IS
to the Resident's to dinner. My old District Officer
with him, and I was very pleased to meet him again. This
was a lucky chance, as he is now Resident of the Interior,
and has come down for a few days after having a rough time
in the Murut country, where there has been some pretty big
fighting. Took a wrong turn on the hill in the dark on the
way back from the Resident's, and, after wandering about
for a long time, found a Chinaman's hut. Knocked up the
Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu 295
occupant and got him to guide me to some place that I knew.
Finally emerged on the railway not far from the hospital.
July i2th. — Bernadan men in early with their boat, a
strongly built tripod - masted prahu called a lipah-lipah.
After finishing up various business got on board at twelve
o'clock and started for the Tempassuk, calling in at the
customs on the way to get a pass. Sailed on with a
favourable wind past the mouths of the Inanan and
Menggatal rivers. Anchored for a while off the Kuala
Tuaran at dark owing to a storm from ahead, which was
apparently coming on. However, it never reached us, and,
the wind being again favourable, we sailed, and arrived at
Kuala Abai some time before daylight. This the boatmen,
who did not know the coast well, tried to persuade me
was the mouth of the Tempassuk river, but I, seeing hills
near the shore, told them that it could not be as there are
no hills at the mouth of the Tempassuk. We therefore
anchored till daybreak, and as soon as it was light found
that I was right, and saw several boats coming out of the
mouth of the Tempassuk, some distance ahead of us.
July 13TH. — Made for the entrance of the river, passing
several large boats (^prahu pakerangan)^ whose occupants
were engaged in fishing with seine nets. One of my crew
on entering the river threw a couple of handfuls of rice
into the water as an oifering to the spirit of the stream.
This he told me he had vowed to do should we arrive at
our destination without trouble or mishap. We had a
tedious and very hot journey up-river to Haji Arsat's house
at Fort Alfred, sailing being impossible, and the boatmen
tired. Haji Arsat at home to meet me. Had a long talk
with him and learned the following news : —
(i) That a new tax of twenty-five cents per annum is to
be laid on all coco-nut-trees from which toddy is
collected.
(2) That a tax is also to be put on tapai (rice wine).
(Difticult to collect !)
296 Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu
(3) That a veterinary surgeon now visits the Tempassuk.
(4) That forced labour has been aboHshed, even with
regard to the upkeep of bridle-paths.
(5) That the rates of wages for coolies have been slightly
raised,
(6) That a Dutchman and a Swiss are going prospecting
for oil to Saiap (on a spur of Mount Kinabalu).
(7) That the recent trouble arose partly from the demarca-
tion of lands with a view to collecting quit-rent.
(8) That the Dato Temenggong (a very old chief) is dead.
Arranged to leave for Kotabelud the next day, the
baggage going by buffaloes, and to call in at Tamu
Timbang, it being market day, on the way.
July 14TH. — To Tamu Timbang by boat with Haji Arsat.
Many Bajaus there, but only a few Dusuns. Met various
old acquaintances, and among them Saleh, my former clerk.
Went round the market, but did not buy anything. On
from the market to the shops, where I met Keruak (a Bajau
headman) — he has been ill, and does not look fit even now
— and Sirinan (a Dusun friend of mine), who, I thought,
seemed glad to see me. Up to the office, into which I
peeped — much the same as in my time. Met several police
who were formerly under me.
From the office to Arsat's Kotabelud house near the river,
where I was to stay until I went up-country. Had a long
talk with Sirinan. Much delay in getting food, as only
three buffaloes turned up at Fort Alfred to take my baggage
in the morning, though six were ordered ; however, the
missing three with the rest of my stuff arrived before dark.
Sat up till late talking with Arsat. The District Officer is at
Pindasan settling up affairs after the trouble, but will return
in a day or two ; so I shall wait to see him.
July 15TH. — Up early, to the office with Arsat and then
down to the shops, where I bought a fine old silver belt-
clasp, an old brass (Brunei) kettle and some other articles.
July i6th. — Around the shops. Picked up some
Rice Field near Tambatuan.
A little Dusun boy left in charge of articles deposited by his parents. The large carrying basket
is used for holding padi or tubers ; upon it rests a spear with blade sheathed. The smaller basket
is used for «mall personal belongings when going on a journey.
Some Dusun Musical Instruments.
These instruments are ordinarily played together. They consist of a set of dulcimer gongs, a
drum, a flute, a nose- flute (one nostril is stopped with leaves when playing it), and two stringed
instruments of bamboo, played by women.
Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu 297
weapons and a small brass cannon in the pawnshop, and a
shell- bracelet from a Bajau man. Up the hill with Sirinan
to have a look at the burnt remains of my old house.
Arsat off to Siraban on business. This village has now
moved down to the flat land. There being a market
to-day (Tamu Darat) many people have gone off to it.
July 17TH. — B., the District Officer, returned from
Pindasan. He was kind enough to send out a couple of
police to beat up coolies for me. Lunch and dinner with
B. He has, as pets, two young Orang-utans and a wah-
wah monkey. Bought a cow for fifteen dollars from the
Dato Meradan, had it killed and divided up, and portions
given to the District Officer, the clerk, the police, the Chinese
shopkeepers and the local headmen. Made arrangements
for starting up-country to-morrow.
July i8th. — Late in leaving Kotabelud, owing to the
coolies not being up to time. (Our destination Tamu
Darat, as I am in no hurry, and prefer to take things easily.)
Passing Siraban, Perasan and Piasau, and following the
bridle-path, we left the villages of Rangalau and Lasau
behind us on the right, and Gaur, situated on a hill on the
other side of the river, on the left. Thence past Pinasang
(on the right). Below the village the flat lands on either
side of the path have, this year, been ploughed for the
planting of dry padi (kendingd).
Our party consists of myself, Gimbad (a Dusun of some
influence in Tempassuk village), Omboi (my boy), Tinggi
(a Tuaran Dusun policeman), and fifteen Dusun coolies
(Piasau and Tempassuk men). I allowed the coolies to get
ahead, so as to have things ready on my arrival, and
followed with Gimbad.
Near Pinasang some Dusuns were hunting with dogs in
a strip of jungle, which is separated from the bridle-path by
a piece of undulating land covered with rough /alang-gmss.
Just as we became aware of this, owing to the barking of
the dogs, a large wild pig (a sow) broke covert and halted
2g8 Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu
for a moment on a slight knoll. Seeing us, she ran ahead,
crossed the bridle-path in front of us, and rushed down
a hill into the river. Gimbad, immediately he saw her head-
ing for the river, drew his parang and dashed oiF in pursuit.
He followed her into the stream and wounded her in the
back above the hind-quarters. She then turned on him and
he wounded her in the snout. Finding that she was getting
the worst of it, she started to swim away again, only to be
wounded a second time in the back. After this Gimbad
gave up the chase, and I watched the sow gain the opposite
bank, wearily climb it, and disappear into some brushwood
on the edge of a strip of jungle. By this time some of the
hunters had come up, and they crossed the river, which was
at that place only waist-deep, taking a dog with them.
They also vanished into the brushwood, but in about three
or four minutes they reappeared, dragging with them the
pig's carcass. She had been too exhausted from loss of
blood to go far, and a spear had given her the coup de gr^ce.
From this place on to the Tamu Darat ground without
further adventure. To-morrow we are to try and make
Kabaiau, and I hope to set out earlier than I did to-day,
as the walk was rather trying, owing to our starting late,
and thus catching the full heat of the sun, for the bridle-
path as far as Tamu Darat is almost without shade.
19TH July, — From Tamu Darat ground to Kabaiau
opis (halting-hut) — the word is derived from "office."
Met a number of Tamis (Ulu Tuaran) coming down to
trade hats, sireb, etc., and also another lot of Dusuns from
Kaung Ulu. A probably stolen cow or buffalo had been
killed on the bridle-path a few days ago, as witness a heap
of dung and leafy branches put down in an attempt to
cover the blood-stains. This was below Ghinambur
Narinang village. Passed the villages of Bongul, Sempodan,
Kabaiau, Lengkobang and Paka on the far side of the river
and Ghinambur Maku-Paku, Ghinambur Baiaiat, Ghinambur
Narinang and Lapan Tabobun on our side. Kabaiau opis
Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu 299
and its neighbourhood in a very dirty state owing to up-
country Dusuns stopping in it on the way to Tamu.
July 2oth. — From Kabaiau to Tambatuan: some very
fine views of Nabalu by the way. Left the bridle-path
opposite Tambatuan village, and climbed down the hill-side
through crops of kaladi to the wet-padi fields in the valley,
where we found several women at work.
The Tambatuan villagers do not use the plough in pre-
paring these ranaU'^eXds for planting. The grass is cut
short, and water is then let in from the river until the roots
die. The ground is rather uneven, and there are some
slight attempts at terracing. Forded the river — i,e, the
Tempassuk or Kadamaian.
Gumpus (the headman of Tambatuan), who had been
warned of my arrival by the coolies, was awaiting me, and
came over to help me across. Thence up the long and
steep hill to Tambatuan village, rain coming on before we
reached our destination. After a rest and some food I paid
oif my coolies and Gimbad. Gumpus and crowds of villagers
in at night. All went into fits of laughter on being shown
their faces in my magnifying shaving-glass. Bought a good
many specimens. To my disgust a Dusun dog stole a large
and newly opened tinned tongue. As many pigs about as ever.
Some sickness (dysentery ?) here, and also, I hear, at Kiau.
July 2ist. — Developing photographs and buying speci-
mens. Crowds of Dusuns in. A fashion in tattooing has
set in here since my last visit, four years ago, due, I am given
to understand, to a Dyak policeman having stopped in the
village for some time. The patterns to be seen are, there-
fore, chiefly debased forms of Sea Dyak designs and are not
truly native to the country. Gumpus has quite covered
himself with these pictures. We are living in a spare house
of his, in which he stores his gongs, of which he is very
proud. Rain all day long.
July 2 2nd. — This day and to-morrow, Gumpus says, are
Dusun tabu-days, no work being allowed to be done in
300 Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu
the fields. Purchased a goat and had it killed for the
benefit of the villagers. Out with Gumpus for a stroll
round the village. Bought a large number of ethnographi-
cal specimens, some of them very fine. I shall make my
long stay here, and only put in a night or so at Kaung and
Kiau. Continual rain from noon until long after dark. I
go to bed very tired every night, as I scarcely have a
minute's rest all day owing to the crowds of people who
come to see me, talk, and sell things. They start arriving at
six o'clock in the morning and the last of them leave me at
about 10.30 or 11 p.m. However, I am very much pleased
with things in general, and have no wish to check them.
My only complaint is that there is so much to do, and so
little time to do it in. Usual chorus of pigs under the house
at night. Tinggi, the Tuaran Dusun policeman, seems
quite a good fellow. Gumpus looks after me like a father.
July 23RD. — Did not set foot outside all day long as I
spent the first part of it in developing photographs, and then
with Gumpus's help set to work to catalogue some of the
things I have collected. Dusuns in with butterflies to sell.
Usual rain in the afternoon.
July 24TH. — Having given out that I would pay one cent
for every butterfly brought to me in good condition, and
two cents for large species, I have been overwhelmed by the
amount of work the Dusuns have made for me. So many
insects have been caught that I have had to throw away dozens
of the commoner kinds. I have stopped buying ethnographical
specimens, as I think that I have got nearly everything
needful, and I shall run short of cash before getting back
to supplies at Kotabelud unless I am careful. Went out in
the early morning with Gumpus to take photographs of
Mount Nunkok and of Kinabalu, also of two human skulls
hung up outside a padi store.
July 25TH. — A dull day with a high wind, probably the
forerunner of a drought, of which the Dusuns will be
very glad, as they are waiting to burn their clearings. Took
Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu 301
some photographs. Spent some time with Gumpus talking
about omen-birds and the meanings of the names of various
villages.
July 26th. — Finished off naming and cataloguing speci-
mens, Gumpus assisting me. Did some photographic work.
This again is a Dusun tabu-day with regard to field-work.
July 27TH. — This day of the month is called Limbas by
the Dusuns. Work is allowable on wet-padi fields, but not
on hill clearings. Gumpus, therefore, off to his ranau (wet-
padi) fields. Developed some more photographs and took a
stroll round the village. Found a spear set up in front of
one house for the purpose of guarding against the spirits
of disease. Got Omboi and Tinggi to tell me something
of Tuaran burial and marriage customs. I was amused to
watch a Dusun pig laboriously searching for, and collecting,
the fallen leaves of coco-nut palms, which she made into a
nest for her young.
July 28th. — Another Dusun tabu-day. Did some photo-
graphic work. Amused myself and the villagers by getting
up some races for boys and girls, giving prizes of a few
cents to the winners. Musical entertainment (gongs and
drums) by Gumpus and other Dusuns at night.
July 29TH. — Left Tambatuan for Kaung. One of the
Tambatuan boys, who is mentally deficient, followed Gumpus
and myself, who had started after the coolies. He was
making a great fuss because his mother, one of my coolies,
was leaving him. Gumpus called to him to go back, but he
only went a little way, and then followed us again. I told
Gumpus to call him to us and explain that it was all right
and that his mother would be back to-morrow. However,
he would not come, but kept just in sight of us through the
bushes on the hill-side below the village, and, when we had
crossed the Kadamaian and were scaling the hill on the
opposite side to rea,ch the bridle-path, he was still to be
heard lamenting by the river-side, where he had been joined
by some other children.
302 Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu
We had an abominable journey to Kaung, with floods of
rain nearly the whole time, and were, of course, drenched
through and through. I was shivering with the cold and
wet, but Gumpus did not seem much disturbed. Managed
somehow or other to get to Kaung opis^ where I found the
coolies, Tinggi and Omboi had arrived safely; the latter,
however, had nearly given in on the road and had occasion-
ally to be pushed along by the coolies. However, we now
seem fairly well recovered, and I hope that there will be no
ill effects. Paid oif six coohes. Several Kaung men came over
to see me. Bought some specimens from them. The river
is in flood, but in spite of this several of the Kaung people
crossed it, though others went round by a bamboo bridge
which they have made a little way up-stream from the village.
July 30TH. — Sent a messenger to Kiau to ask Ompo (an
old friend of mine) to come and see me. I have decided not
to go to his village, as the track is in a very bad state, and it
is doubtful if I should do as much in the way of collecting
specimens there as I can here, since Kiau is, comparatively
speaking, frequently visited by Europeans, who are intent
on climbing Nabalu. Ompo arrived at about 5 p.m. He
seems very friendly and quite fit. Small toddy (bahr) party
at night. Bought a number of ethnographical specimens.
Settled to leave here the day after to-morrow. River still
in flood after yesterday's rain, but fordable for local Dusuns.
In the morning I crossed by the bridge to Kaung village,
taking with me Gumpus, Tinggi and Omboi. Took some
photographs, including the bridge, shoot fish-traps, village
guardian-stones, head-house (containing two skulls in a
basket), etc., etc.
July 31ST. — Went over to Kaung with Ompo, Tinggi,
Gumpus and Omboi, crossing by the river, which has now
gone down. Climbed to the upper part of the village, which
I had not visited before. Another head-house there, the
human skulls, contained in a basket, being mixed with several
of those of the Orang-Utan. There are two head-houses in
Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu 303
the lower village, each containing a couple of skulls, but one of
them has fallen down. Took more photographs and bought a
number of specimens. Ompo returned to Kiau this evening.
August ist. — Left Kaung for Gumpus's ranau sulap —
ue, watching-hut on the wet-padi fields — below Tambatuan
village and arrived there. Not a troublesome journey when
done in dry weather, as to-day. Since there has been no
rain for the last few days, Gumpus and some of the Tam-
batuan men want to burn off their clearings to-morrow, and
the former has asked me to continue my journey on the day
after. This I have consented to do, with the proviso that I
pay no wages for to-morrow. In this hut there is hanging
up, under the thatch, a small bamboo trough, which was
used as a receptacle for last year's rice soul Qnembaraian),
and close to it, and stuck into the thatch, are two small
bamboo knives with which the rice soul was reaped. I have
asked Gumpus to let me have all these. A few of the Kiau
people, and one Tambatuan man, being afraid that it may
rain to-morrow, have burned their clearings to-day, but I
doubt if they have been very successful, as the wood is not
yet sufficiently dry after the heavy rains of a few days ago.
August 2nd. — At Gumpus's sulap. Extensive burnings
of felled jungle to-day. One burnt on the hill near us
excellent. Several Dusuns, chiefly Kaung Ulu men, passed
by on their way to Tamu Timbang. Gumpus, who has
burned his clearing, but not very successfully, came in to-
wards evening, bringing with him a bamboo of rice wine.
He says that he will have five days' work collecting the
unburn t wood on his clearing for a second firing. I noticed
that a single tree has been left unfelled in a clearing near
us, and thinking it probable that there might be some super-
stitious reason for this, asked a Dusun why it had not been
cut down. He replied that it was left as a perching-place
for the birds, as, if there was no tree left for them in the
clearing, they might curse the crop. Sand-flies and horse-
flies here in plenty, and sleep difficult.
304 Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu
August jrd. — Left Gumpus's ranau sulap for Kabaiau
(about four miles away) and arrived there. To-morrow I
hope to reach Ghinambur Narinang, so as to take raft from
there to Kotabelud on the day following. I am sending oiF
a couple of lightly laden coolies early to-morrow to tell
the Narinang people to make the raft. On the way to
Kotabelud I intend to call in at Tamu Darat, the day after
to-morrow being market day. During the early part of
to-day all the country towards Tamu Darat was obscured
by clouds of smoke, as the Dusuns there are burning off
their clearings, being afraid that rain is coming.
August 4TH. — From Kabaiau to Ghinambur Laut,
Stopped at Ghinambur Narinang by the way to inquire if
there was a possibility of getting a raft, having sent off two
coolies early as I purposed yesterday. Found that there
were no bamboos in the neighbourhood and that it was
therefore impossible to construct one. Journey as far as
Narinang not unpleasant, but from Narinang to Ghinambur
Laut the path was rough and the sun hot. On arrival I
heard that several rafts belonging to the Kabaiau people are
moored at the mouth of the Penataran river, and that their
makers are coming down to Tamu Darat on them to-morrow.
The Ghinambur opis is now in ruins. The village,
though not visible from the bridle-path, is only a few chains
distant on the other side of a small strip of jungle. Put up
in a rather small Dusun house. Everybody here (and else-
where) very much exercised about the new twenty-live-cent
tax on coco-nut-trees used for obtaining bahr. Got some
excellent oranges, which I did not know grew lower down
the Tempassuk valley than Kiau and Tambatuan, and also
several durians. (The orange-tree seedlings seem to have
been obtained from Kiau.)
August 5TH. — Left Ghinambur Laut for Tamu Darat
and arrived there. A very small market to-day, as the up-
country Dusuns are busy working on their clearings. The
Swiss oil-man turned up in the Tamu. He is on his way to
Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu 305
Kabaiau. Haji Arsat, Keruak, Bagu, Sirinan, ex-sergeant
Lakui and other old friends of mine at market. Left the
Tamu by rafts, Gumpus and Omboi on one, I on another.
Arrived at Kotabelud in the afternoon. The District Officer
away in Jesselton.
August 6th. — Nothing particular doing. Drew some
money and paid off my coolies. Sangin (a Bajau, and an old
friend) came in towards evening from Kagurhan, to which
place he has removed from Kotabelud. Had a chat with him
and told him to let me see some brass-ware, which he wants
to sell to-morrow. Sirinan also in for a talk, bringing with
him a very nicely made model of a Dusun plough. Bought
an old Chinese jar and a stone implement from a Bajau, and
a couple of large and fine sun-hats, made by the Tamis (Ulu
Tuaran) people, in the shops. We are putting up in a
newly erected bungalow on the top of Kotabelud hill, which
is situated between the fort and the site of my old house.
August 7TH. — Arranged with Sangin to buy some of his
brass-ware. Repacking Dusun collections with Omboi.
August 8th. — Sangin came in with his brass-ware and the
Illanun loom (with half-completed cloth) which I asked him
to get for me. Arranged with Sirinan to go to Kampong
Tempassuk to-morrow to try and excavate the reputed site
of an old village.
August 9TH. — Left Kotabelud with Sirinan at about
8 A.M. Crossed the river at Gunding and, from there,
walked to Gimbad's house at Tempassuk. On nearing the
village we came to his irrigation canal, quite a big affair. I
noticed that in one place its banks were considerably higher
than elsewhere, and immediately suspected that this was the
place where he said his canal had cut through an old house
site. On Gimbad joining us, I found that I was correct in
my surmise. The banks of the canal at this place were
strewn with bits of coarse and thick pottery, different from
that made by the Dusuns at the present day.
Gimbad and Sirinan picked up several yellow glass or
3o6 Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu
paste beads, like those which the Dusuns still value ; but
we saw no fragments of Chinese pottery. We also found
two stones (naturally rounded by river action) which had
evidently been selected because of their shape for some
purpose or other. Possibly they were used for potting
stones, but they are much larger than the pebbles employed
for that purpose by the modern Dusuns. After trying the
soil here and there with the changkol^ and seemingly ex-
hausting the possibilities of the site, we repaired to Gimbad's
house, where he produced another bead (blue), which he
had found while making his canal, and a fairly large, flattish
piece of brass ornamented with some rudely cast patterns.
This and the bead I purchased.
Another interesting object found on the same site was
also produced, but the man who owned it refused to part
with it. This was a well-shaped little hone or cleaning-
stone with a hole bored in it at one end to enable it to be
suspended from a cord. Its length was about five inches
and its breadth about seven-eighths of an inch, while it may
have been one-third of an inch in thickness. The stone of
which it was composed was greenish brown, fine-grained
and fairly hard. Leaving Tempassuk, where we had been
regaled with a meal of rice and small boiled fish (both dried
and fresh) and with rice cooked with Indian corn, all washed
down by a plentiful supply of bahr^ we made for Bunsud's
house at Tamboulian, but unluckily found him out.
However, his lieutenant Lipatan welcomed and entertained
us. From Tamboulian we made our way to Piasau, where we
called in at Ransab's, but he also was out. Left Sirinan in the
village (his own), and returned to Kotabelud with the coolie
that I had taken with me in the morning to help in excavating.
August ioth. — Bought rather a nice old brass betel-box
in one of the Chinese shops. I was sitting talking with
Sirinan and a Bajau in the evening outside our hut when
a small snake glided past, close to Sirinan, going in the
direction of the house. Its colour was black, and I suspected
'* I
Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu 307
that it was a cobra, as they are common on the grassy hills
round Kotabelud. In this I turned out to be correct, for it
puffed out quite a large hood when Omboi and the Bajau
set to work to dispatch it with sticks.
August i ith. — Bought a large Illanun sword and a
Tridacna shell-bracelet from Kalud, and a long, Illanun type,
shield (klasug) from Sirinan. The latter went off to Usakan to
superintend some repairs to the wooden jetty, which was always
giving trouble in my time. Went down to meet Haji Arsat at
the shops in the evening, and made a few purchases. Lipatan
and another Dusun in the babr (toddy) at about midday.
. August i 2Th. — To Tamu Timbang in the early morning,
where I took a few photographs of the market. No fish to
be obtained, as Omboi and I were late in getting there and
everything had been bought up by the Chinese, and by the
Bajaus, who were preparing for their Hari Raya festival,
which, in most villages, is to be celebrated to-morrow.
Bought a sun-hat of a type I wanted in the market and also
a newly cast Illanun horse-bit (brass). Sampled some Bajau
penjarom cakes and then home.
One Bernadan (Tawi Tawi) dapong (large, double out-
rigger boat) turned up to the market, which is held by the
river-side, and I have arranged, through Haji Arsat, who
was also at the Tamu, for three of these craft to await me
at Tamu Timbang ground on Sunday, with a view to sailing
for Mengkabong on Monday morning. The hair of the
Orang Bernadans' children, two of whom were on board,
has quite a red tinge, due, I suppose, to constant exposure
to sea breezes and salt water.
The Bernadans that I have seen so far are of a lower type
than the Bajaus; their skin colour is dark through constant
exposure, and their eyes are small, roving and glittering:
forehead low and features animalian.
On arrival at Kotabelud I found Sangin waiting for me,
and paid him for the specimens that I took from him the
other day. Bought a stone implement of a rare type from a
3o8 Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu
Bajau, who also brought in a very nice old green crackle-
ware Chinese dish for which he asked ten dollars. I
offered two dollars, but this was refused, but I subsequently-
got it for three dollars. Bengali, Gimbad and two other
Tempassuk Dusuns in with a present of bahr^ which we
consumed between us. Numerous flights of green pigeon
passed under the house after tea.
I was sitting outside watching these when Dr H., the oil
expert, came by on his way to Haji Arsat's house, having
just come in from Saiap, where he had gone (via Melangkap)
from Kabaiau. I showed him the stone implement bought
to-day and he seemed surprised, saying that there was a
nephrite (the mineral of which the implement is made) hill
in the neighbourhood of Tempassuk village. We are to
visit this on Friday to see if we can find signs of the stone
having been worked. I also mentioned the radiolarian chert
flakes, which are to be found on Kotabelud hill, and we are
to search for some of these to-morrow.
August 13TH. — Out with Dr H. to the end of Kotabelud
hill in search of chert flakes, of which we found several.
From there to the shops to buy Illanun cloths, and then to
Koruak's village to take photographs of Hari Raya festivities.
The District Officer returned to-day and came round to see
me towards evening. Dinner with the District Officer.
August 14TH. — Down to Haji Arsat's house to see Dr
H., who is foot-sore from his journey up-country. Thence
to the shops to pay some bills, and then to Diki's Kampong
at Perasan to take photographs of the Aari Raya celebrations.
August 15TH. — Rather a bad attack of fever. Gimbad,
Sirinan, Lipatan, Bengali and other Dusuns came in to see
me, bringing bahr with them, but I was not fit enough to
talk very much to them.
August i6th. — Still fever. The Bernadans' boats have
not yet come in. Left for Haji Arsat's house at Fort
Alfred and arrived there feeling very much done up. Our
three boats in towards evening.
Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu 309
August 17TH. — Still fever. Left Arsat's house at about
3 P.M. Omboi and I in one boat, heavy baggage in the
other two. Anchored off Ambong at night.
August i 8th. — Winds contrary and going therefore slow.
Landed once to get firewood and once for water. Anchored
for the night at the mouth of the Mengkabong river.
August 19TH. — Up the Mengkabong river to Mengka-
bong village. Omboi off to Tuaran to see his wife. I,
being still unwell and weak from not eating, did not go,
though I should have liked to have done so. Took a
number of photographs of the village. Rain all afternoon.
Left towards night for Jesselton and anchored till daybreak
under an island within sight of that place.
August 2oth. — Sailed into Jesselton, gave up pass at
the customs office and landed close to the Rest House.
August 2ist. — Repacking specimens. Visited one 'or
two people whom I knew formerly.
August 2 2nd. — To dinner at W.'s to see his excellent
collection of brass-ware.
August 24TH. — Left Jesselton for Papar by the eight
o'clock train. The railway between Jesselton and Papar
passes partly through mangrove swamps, partly along the
seashore and partly through padi-fields owned by Dusuns
and Bajaus. Arrived at Papar, made my way to the pawn-
shop, always the first place I visit in a settlement, and
picked up some nice pieces of brass-ware. In another
Chinese shop I purchased a locally made Dusun sun-hat
decorated with fine patterns, and a very heavy and beauti-
fully worked brass betel-casket of a type of which I had
long wanted to get an example. Many of the Dusuns here
have become Christians, there being a Roman Catholic
mission station in the vicinity, others are converts to Islam.
Externally, in their manners, I did not think that they
compared favourably with their less civilised brothers, but
perhaps the improvement is internal only, and thus not
visible on the surface. Land in Papar seems to be at a
3IO Diary of a Journey to Kinabalu
premium, and the little township presents quite a busy
appearance. The Chinese here grow vegetables for Jessel-
ton market ; otherwise I do not know how they live, unless it
is by taking in one another's washing. The new bridge over
the Papar river is the great engineering work of Borneo.
Met M. in the Rest House, where I went to get a drink.
He and I came out on the same boat to Borneo together as
cadets. He very kindly gave me tiffin and sent his boy with
me to a Dusun house to see some old jars, among which,
however, there were no true Gusis, The return train to
Jesselton was over two hours late, but did eventually arrive.
The scenery along the line is rather fine in places, especially
where the railway runs near the coast. Both Dusuns and
Bajaus seem to be late in planting their padi, they still being
at work ploughing and harrowing in some places.
August 25TH. — Finished packing. Said good-bye to the
Resident and to some other people. Went on board the
s.s. Selangor at about 4 p.m. Heavy rain all day. The boat
will not sail till 3 p.m. to-morrow, though the advertised time
is 5 P.M. to-day.
August 26th. — Left Jesselton. Anchored till daylight
oiF some small island.
August 27TH. — Weighed anchor at about 5 a.m. for
Labuan and arrived at about half-past ten. Decided not
to stop in Labuan (as I had intended to do). Omboi had,
therefore, to be sent back to Tuaran. Luckily I found a
launch which was about to leave for Weston on the main-
land ; so, putting him on board, I gave him directions for
reaching Jesselton via Beaufort.
August 2 8th. — Arrived at Miri early in the morning,
but only stopped to take off mails.
August 29TH. — Beautiful weather. Passed some islands
(?the Natunas) at 12 a.m.
August 30TH. — Arrived at Singapore.
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A.
DERIVATIONS OF SOME TEMPASSUK PLACE- AND VILLAGE-NAMES,
AS GIVEN ME BY NATIVES
(i) Bengkahak
(2) Paka
(3) Kinsaroban
or Kinsiraban
(4) Lengkobang
(5) Bundu
(6) Tambulian
(7) Tambatuan
(8) Penalabu
(9) Senimpodan
(a village)
(10) Piasau
(11) Tiong
(12) Rangalau
(13) Nahabah
possibly
possibly
(14) Tempassuk (river and village)
from bengkahak^ a crow.
,, pakoy lalangy grass.
„ saroh, to burn.
,, kuhang, a. pass between
hills.
,, bunduy a kind of mango
fruit.
,, u/i or mulij to go home.
,, tambatuan, a kind of
grass or bamboo.
,, imlabu, a hole which
goes through.
,, senimpody to swallow.
There is a legend
that a child was once
swallowed at this
place by a kind of
fish called balus.
,, piasau y a coco-nut-tree.
,, tiong y a deep pool.
,, rangalauy 2l kind of tree
and fruit.
,, na-habahy fallen (of a
tree): i.e. the village
would thus be the
place of the fallen
trees.
Said to be so called
from a whirlpool
which the Bajaus
made in the river
by means of magic.
311
JfeftMGP
312
Appendices
APPENDIX B.
MEASUREMENTS OF " ORANG DUSUN " (1915)
Serial
No.
Head Length
Head
Breadth
Cephalic
Index
Remarks
Dusun of
Tempassuk
1
188 mm.
138 mm.
73-4
Up-country
Tambatuan
District
2
183 „
144 >»
78.6
j>
>>
3
196 „
139 »
70.9
>»
»»
4
178 „
134 »
75.2
»»
>>
5
186 „
142 „
76.3
»»
>»
6
180 „
134 >,
74-4
»»
j>
7
201 „
148 „
73-5
>>
)j
8
188 „
147 »»
78.1
M
>>
9
192 „
142 „
73-9
>»
j>
10
178 „
143 »
80.3
>>
))
II
181 „
137 ,y
75.6
>>
»>
12
188 „
144 »»
76.5
»>
j>
13
188 „
141 »>
75.0
Kaung
j>
H
182 „
141 »»
77-4
>»
>>
IS
177 »,
138 ,,
77-9
»>
j>
16
183 „
143 ,»
78.1
>>
»>
17
180 „
142 „
78.8
„
»
)>
18
181 „
143 »»
79.0
Tuaran
Tuaran
District
19
191 »»
142 „
74-3
»
>»
APPENDIX C.
THE MALAY LANGUAGE AS SPOKEN IN NORTH-WEST BORNEO
Malay, not being the mother tongue of this part of Borneo,
although it is the lingua /ra/ica, as might be expected, is spoken
extremely badly. Various words are used which are unknown in
the Malay of the Peninsula. Possibly they may occur in the native
languages, or in the patois of the Bruneis, who naturally speak a
Malay dialect. Some of these words are given below :
( I ) Bubuty to pursue {hamhat or kejar of the Peninsula Malays).
(1) Tagi, to dun a man who is in debt.
Appendices 313
(3) Kelaleiy to recognise.
(4) Gagau, to be busy, to be worried by having too much work
to do.
(5) Balousiry to run (used of either men or horses).
(6) Bangkar, a raft (rakit in the Malay Peninsula).
(7) Siring f edge — i.e. of a river, a box, etc. {tepi in the Malay
Peninsula).
(8) Kahan, a box.
I have remarked elsewhere on the difficulty the Dusuns seem to
have in pronouncing ch, and the way they have of turning it into
J- or h.
Other peculiarities are that a final k is pronounced clearly, and not
half swallowed (glottal cheek), until it sounds like a mixture
between an h and a ky as in the Peninsula, and that in some words
in which there are r's and /'s these letters become curiously
transposed. Thus the ordinary Malay words seluar (trousers)
become serual, lapar (hungry) rapaU luar (outside) r/W, etc.
Abbreviations are not so commonly used as in the Peninsula,
where tidak mou (don't want) usually becomes tamou and //^ ada
(there is not) t^ada.
The word dengan, which in the Malay Peninsula frequently means
ivith {sahya potong dengan parang, I cut it with a parang), in the
mouths of the Dusuns hQComesj afigan {sahya potong jangan parang).
/
\
J
INDEX
Agriculture, 27
Antique jars, 270
Ants, 58
A.queduct, native, 50
^.tmosphere in the jungle, 61
Jajau houses, 214
3ajau occupations, 216
3ajau and Illanun women, 198
3ajau boatmen, 69
Bajaus and Illanuns, character of, 22
Bajaus, 194; improvidence of, 138;
labourers, 38, 52
Bamboo, the, 60
Bamboo forests, 61
Banjo, Dusun, 131
Banyan, the, 165
Basket-making, 233
Baskets, 150
Beads, old, value of, 144
Beaufort, 44
Beer, 223
Bees, 98
Beeswax, legend of the, 179
Beginningof the World, Legend of, 1 75
Berian or purchase price for wife, 122,
123, 136
Big game, 58
Bird scares, 104, 201
Birds, 57
Birds'-nests, edible, 42
Blacksmiths, 148, 235
Blatek, origin of the, 181
Blood brotherhood, 168
Blow-pipe, the, 190
Boats, native, 68
Bongkas or beads, 145
Borneo, physical geography of, 18
Borneo, 17
Bracelets and armlets, 92, 234
Brass cannon, 256
Brass-casting, 151, 234
Brass ornaments, 92
Bridle-paths, 44
British North Borneo, 17, 19
Brunei, 17
Brunei brass-work, 292
Buffaloes, value of, 137
Buffalo-riding, 62
Buffalo-stealing, 84
Butterflies, 57, 300
Calendar of good and bad days^ 166
Casting-net, 203
Cats, 98
Cattle, export of, 237
Cattle in the Tempassuk, 51, 202
Census of 191 1, 54
Centipedes and scorpions, 59
Ceremonial dress, 158
Chain-mail, 255
Charms, stone implements as, 268
Characteristics of the people, 28
Charm-belts, 164
Chartered Company, 19, 42
Chieftains, 219
Chinese names in Borneo, 281
Chinese, influence of, 18, 34, 78, 141,
143, 199, 229, 274
Civilisation, influence of, 3 1
Climate, 19
Cloth, Dusun, 148, 211, 230
Clothing and hairdressing of women,
210
Coastal people, the, 28
Cock-fighting, 238
Coco-nut oil, 222
Coco palms, 41
Coffins, 227
Communal dwellings, 94, 96
Contracts and treatment of the coolies,
40
Cooking lamp, the, 66
Cooking, Dusun, 100, 113, 217
Coolies, recruiting, 38, 64
Copper, 36
Courtship, 123
Crime, 218
Crocodile shooting, 74
Crops, various, 106
3i6
Cruelty to animals, 97
" Crusader " sword, the, 253
Currency, 136
Damar gum, 42
Dancing, Dusun, 134, 243
Death, 129
Debt amongst coolies, 39
Deer drives, 107
Dent, Sir A., 20
Desertion amongst coolies, 39
Dish-covers, 233
Divorce, 122, 228
Dogs, 97
Dress of the Bajaus, 209
Dress, ceremonial, 158
Dress, women's, 91
Drink, native-brewed, 82, 117
Drums, 133
Duit buis or poll-tax, 220
Dusun costume, 88
Dusun custom, origin of a, 176
Dusun women, 8 1
Dusuns, the, 35, 37, 53, 79, g^,
loo, 237
Dutch, the, 20
Duties, import and export, 42
Dyes, 230
Dynamite fishing, no
Ear ornaments, 91
Earth, edible, 1 1 5
Embroidery, 233
Epidemics, 31
Epilepsy, 167
Epiphytes, 61
Evil influences, 77
Expensive weapons, 242
Fighting on land, 265
Fish-traps, 108
Fishing 108, 109, 110,203,204
r lutes, bamboo, 131
Folk-tales, 87, 170,251
Food, 216, 228
Forest growth, secondary, 206
Frogs, curious, 59
Fruit, 222
Funerals, 124
Gambling, 52, 198, 240
Games, 241
Index
Gayang, the, 190
Girdles, 91
Gobang or dug-out, 68
Gold, 36
Gongs and drums, 130, 245
Government chiefs, 72, 219
Grass-fires, 206
Graves, 227
"Guests" of the Government, 84
G«x;/ or sacred jars, 153, 156
Hagi Orang Kaya Kaya Mohamme
Arsat, 219
Hairdressing, 90, 92, 211
^ajisy 248
Halting-huts, 68
Hari Raya, 250
Harrow, Dusun, 104
Hats and hoods, 91, 146
Head-cloths, 89, 231
Head-houses, 188
Head-hunting, religious aspects of,
86, 159,186
Headman, village, 73, 10 1
High food, 1 1 3
Hill padi, 105
Honey, 99
Hospitality, 67
Houses, native, 67, 93
House-horns, 96
Humour, sense of, 3 1
Hunting, 205
Ilan bilis, 204
Illanun chiefs, 220
Illanuns, the, 53, 196
Imported articles, 43, 52
Inheritance, 227
Intoxicants, 32, 116, 120, 223
Irrigation canal, 305
« Jack-of-all-trades,'* a, 72
Jackets, 91
Jars as coffins, 127
Jesselton, 293
Jewellery, personal, 210
Jews' harps, 1 3 1
Jungle, the Eastern, 41, 56, 61, 6c,
139 i'
Jungle-crabs, 59
Index
317
^adut tubers, 112
aladi tubers, 1 06
^aung, 302
leruak, 47
Linabalu, Mount, 17, 47, 125
Uasug or shield, the, 254
^ongsi or trade union, 78
knives, 149
[.otabelud, 45, 47
ifm, Malay, 190, 254
^ABOUR, 37
abuan, 292
Wa«f -grass, 206
azy woman, legend of the, 183
-.eeches, 58
ife in the jungle, 56
ime-burning, 236
LimpaJa-tree, 164
Loom, Dusun, 147, 231
VIad persons, reverence for, 157, 167
Vlanganese, 37
lilantanani Islands, 47
Manufactures, 146
Wlarriage ceremony, 225
Maoris, the, a comparison, 34
Markets, 140
Marriage, 122
Mat-making, 233
Mat Saleh, 22, 25, 188
Matriarchy, 226
Medicine and magic, 251
Mcnghaji, 155
Mengkabong river, 45
Millipedes, 59
Minerals, 36
Mohogy 155
Mohammedan natives, 30
Molluscs and crustaceans, 204
Monkeys as pets, 97
Mosque, officers of the, 250
Mosques, 215, 250
Mother-of-pearl, 205
Musical instruments, 131
Native craftsman, the, 229
Natives, attitude of the, 24
Nonok Kurgung, Legend of, 180
Officers of the Chartered Company,
26
Officials, European, 72
Oil wells at Miri, 291
Omen-animals, 152
Omens, 165
Omnivorous eaters, the Dusuns, 1 12
Opium-smoking, 52, 223
Orang Dusuns, 35, 79
Orang-utan, story of the, 174
Organ, Dusun, 132
Ornaments, female, 212
Ornaments, personal, 89
Out-stations, 71, 73
Padded and quilted coats, 255
Padi, cultivation of, lOi, 201
Palms, 60
Parangs^ 65, 1 48
Parang ilangj the, 1 49, 1 89
" Path of the Ghosts,*' 1 26
Pawnshops, 199, 241
Pearls, 205
Pedang, the, 189
Pepper, 41 *
Perasan, 48
Personal names, tabu on, 168
Pestle and mortar, the, 100
Pida or barong, 189, 254
Pigafetta, Antonio, 1 8
Pigs, 73»98
Pikul, value of the, 225
Piracy, 257
Pirate prahu, a, 256
Pit-traps, 107
Plough, Dusun, 103
Police, the, 5 5
Poll-tax, 42
Ponies, native, 51
Population, 27, 33
Portuguese, the, 18
Pottery, 148, 236
Priestesses, dress of, i 59
Prisoners in gaol, death-rate of, 85
Produce cultivated and manufactured.
Provisions, 65
Racing, 243
Rafting, 69
Rafts for spirits, 251
Ramadan fast, the, 249
Rattan palm, the, 60
3i8 Index
Reaping, 104
Religious impostors, 248
Religious rites, 1 5 3
Religion, 247
Revenue, 42
Rice, dry, 105
Rice, wet, 103
Rice the staple diet, 1 14
Rubber, 37
Sacred trees, 164
Saddle, native, 63
Sagit, paying, 169
Sago, 41
Saint in Sumatra, story of a, 29
Salt-making, 235
Sarawak, 17
Sarips, 220
Semanggang Dyaks, 291
Servants, 77
Sharips, 248
Shields, 190
Shifts, constant, 7 5
Sickness, offerings in, 1 68
Silver-work, 212
Singing, Dusun, 134
Singarun, 49
Sirrh'hoxcs, 89, 234
5'/r^^-chewing, 1 1 5
Sirinan, 80
Skulls and bones, habit of preserving,
114
Sleeping-cloth, 232
Small-pox, dread of, 166
Snakes, 58
Snares and traps, 208
Spaniards, the, 18
Spears, 191, 149, 255
Spear-traps, 86, 107
Spirits, the propitiation of, 152, 154
** Splashing,** fishing by, 110
Stimulants, 223
Stone implements, antique, 266
Store-bins, 96
Sugar-cane, 202
Sulaman, 50
Sultans of Sulu and Brunei, 20, 23
Sun-hats, 89, 212
Supreme Deity, Dusun idea of, 152
Tabus, 153, 163, 168
Tambatuan, 299
Tapai cakes, 222
Tapai, native intoxicant drink, 1 19
Tattooing, 162, 299
Telegraphic system, 44
Tempassuk district, the, 48, 51
Tempassuk river, T7, 47
Tenumpok or model of head, 161
** Thunder teeth,'* 267
Timber, 41, 60
Timber, destruction of, 206
Tinned provisions, 66
Tobacco, 37, 116, 144
Toddy, coco-nut-palm, 67, 118
Tooth-filing, 90
Traps, 106
Travelling in Borneo, 62, 70, 74
Tree-ferns, 61
Trees, sacred, 164
Tuaran, 45, 46, 50
Tuaran river, 17
Tutong settlement, a, 292
Unpleasant happenings, 76
Unredeemed pledges, 242
Up-country people, 28
Varthema, 18
Vegetables, 65, 221
Villages, Dusun, 93, 213
Wallows, 64
War coats and helmets, 192
War tabus, 163
Water-buffaloes, 63
Water vessels, 1 1 4
Wealth, forms of, 135
Weapons, the manufacture of, 189, 25;
Whistle, Dusun, 133
Windows, 95
Women, liberty of, 197, 211
Women and religious ceremonies, 15^
Working-knife or parang, 212
Printed in Great Britain by thk Riverside Pre^s Limited
Edinburgh
1922
^emy 8ro. With many Illustrations &> a Map. 12/. 6ti. netu
KASHMIR
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